Unsurprisingly, I woke up in the middle of the night, pulled out my laptop, and streamed the semi-finals of the men’s bouldering. As soon as the clock expired on Anraku Sorato’s final boulder, I immediately fell back asleep. Now awake and refreshed, I wanted to share my initial thoughts on this bouldering round. (You can find the results for the men’s semifinals on the Olympic website here.)
1. Anraku Sorato is Unbelievably Strong
Sorato was the only climber to top the second boulder—with a flash! Many others made it to the crux but couldn’t leverage a sloper to propel themselves upward and dynamically compress the final two holds.
Check out Hamish McArthur (GBR) and Colin Duffy (USA) attempting the move:
And then watch Sorato’s flash.
Incredible.
2. Five Minutes is Long Enough to Learn the Proper Movements
I will never understand how climbers make micro-adjustments within their allotted time. Watch Adam Ondra (CZE) on Boulder 4.
- On his first attempt, he rushes the step-through and loses his balance.
- In his second attempt, he controls the step-through but misses the foot placement by an inch.
- On his third attempt, he puts everything together.
3. Adam Ondra’s Celebrations are the Best
4. A Request for a Couple of Filming Adjustments
Speaking of adjustments, I have a couple of relatively simple requests for competitive climbing filming:
First, please do not pan away from a climber in the middle of a move. There was a moment when Jakob Schubert (AUT) was contorting his body every which way to try to match the final hold on Boulder 1. It was one of the most intense moments of the entire broadcast. So why did the broadcast cut to the audience mid-climb?
Second, please always display a panned-out shot of all four boulders at once at the top of the screen. I barely saw Dohyun Lee (KOR) because the camera refocused on other climbers during his attempts.
5. Slight Differences in Body Position and Tension Have Dramatic Impacts
It’s difficult to see on video, but watch Toby Roberts (GBR) and Colin Duffy attempt the same move on Boulder 1.
I believe Toby succeeds by getting his body as close to the wall as possible. He can maintain body tension by being closer to the wall as he slowly readjusts his left hand and inches his right foot to the hold.
In contrast, Colin Duffy’s torso is barely perceptively further from the wall. He cannot maintain body tension, and resorts to flailing his left hand to readjust it. This high-risk move, unfortunately, was unsuccessful.
6. How I Would Climb at the Olympics
Honestly? I’d give up.
