Paris 2024 : Reaching for Gold, How sport Climbing Became an Olympic Sport”

During the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020, climbing was added to the Olympic Games for the first time. Three disciplines were included in the combined structure of the event: lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched this début as part of an effort to update the Olympic program and draw in younger spectators.

The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) made the application in 2015, and the IOC formally accepted it in 2016 during the 129th IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro. This marked the beginning of the route towards Olympic inclusion. The IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020, which sought to bring new sports that connect with today’s young culture, had an impact on the decision.

The climbing sports at the Tokyo Olympics attracted 40 participants (20 men and 20 women), and the competition format was created to highlight the athletes’ flexibility in all three disciplines. Because of the positive response to the event, there was plans to extend the sport climbing program for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which is currently in display at the event paris 2024, There are four events total: two combined events and two distinct speed climbing competitions for men and women.

How does Olympic climbing work?

Olympic sport climbing is broken down into three disciplines: bouldering, speed and lead.

Bouldering: Athletes ascend up a 4.5-meter wall (nearly 15 feet) without ropes in a limited period of time and in the fewest attempts possible.

Lead: Climbers go as high as they can on a 15-meter wall (nearly 50 feet) in six minutes in a single attempt.

Speed: One-on-one elimination rounds and also a race against the clock, climbers scale a 15-meter wall with a five-degrees incline. The best athletes can do it in less than six seconds for men, and the top women typically break seven seconds.