The Olympics are back! In a few days, the most anticipated sport is about to take center stage. Of course, we are talking about climbing. Climbing is making its second appearance at the games, and, to get you excited for the tops, the falls and the beta, we will provide you with in depth coverage of the games.
But first, this post covers the basics.
1. What Day and Time is Sport Climbing Premiering at the Paris Olympics?
| Women's | Men's | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Date |
Time (EST) |
Date |
Time (EST) |
|
Semifinal: Boulder |
August 6 |
4 AM |
August 5 |
4 AM |
|
Semifinal: Lead |
August 8 |
4 AM |
August 7 |
4 AM |
|
Final: Boulder |
August 10 |
4:15 AM |
August 9 |
4:15 AM |
|
Final: Lead |
August 10 |
6:35 AM |
August 9 |
6:35 AM |
For those of us in Canada, the time-zone is not… ideal. But, is there a better way to start a day? In Canada, the Olympics are being covered, for free, on CBC Gem.
2. What is Sport Climbing?
Sport climbing consists of two climbing disciplines: bouldering and lead climbing.
In Bouldering, climbers attempt to scale a shorter wall (generally under 4.5 meters or 15 feet) and “top” the route. The route is also commonly known as a “boulder problem.” Because the route is shorter, climbers free climb the problem (i.e., without a rope) above a large mat to catch the climber when, or if, they fall.
For bouldering in the Olympics, the setters place four pieces of tape to signify where the climbers must begin (one for each limb). Two other holds are identified as Zone 1 and Zone 2, and the very last hold of the route is the “top.” Climbers must “match” the top hold, which means they must place both hands on final hold and maintain control.
In lead climbing, climbers attempt to scale a higher wall (it was 15 meters, or 50 feet, at the last Olympics). Climbers clip the belay rope into quickdraw carabiners that are placed at regular intervals on the wall. When the climber reaches the top, they clip into the last quickdraw, shout “Yes!” and celebrate with their arms and legs (the celebration is optional), and are lowered back to the ground.
The route in the Olympics consists of five sections. Typically, the route begins with a slight overhang, proceeds to a steep overhang, then rewards the climbers with a difficult roof, before gently encouraging the climbers to fall on a vertical wall with extremely small holds and technical moves. In the first of the five sections, the judges (perhaps inconsiderately) award no points for reaching any of the holds. Climbers are only awarded points for reaching the holds in the remaining four sections, which is described in more detail below.
3. How is Sport Climbing Graded at the Olympics?
Grading is simple. Climb to the top on every boulder problem and the lead wall and earn the maximum 200 points. Grading gets slightly more complicated when climbers do not reach the top.
Bouldering
Climbers can earn a maximum of 100 points in the boulder round, 25 points for each of the four boulder problems. The scoring is as follows:
- Flash a problem (climb to the top on the first attempt) and receive 25 points.
- Reach the first zone and receive 5 points.
- Reach the second zone and receive 10 points.
- Fail to reach a zone or a top and lose 0.1 points for each failure, but the points only are deducted if you eventually reach the zone or top.
It is a little confusing, so let’s look at the following examples.
- Climber A flashes the boulder: 25 points
- Climber B flashes zone 1 and takes two attempts to reach zone 2: 14.9 points
- Climber C takes five attempts to reach zone 1: 4.6 points.
- Climber D takes 2 attempts to reach zone 1, reaches zone 2 immediately, falls, and then climbs the route on the next go: 24.8 points
- Climber E takes eight attempts but reaches no zones: 0 points
Lead Climbing
Lead climbing has a much simpler scoring system. It also promises a maximum of 100 points. Climbers only hold points for reaching the highest forty holds of the route: 1 point for the first 10, 2 for the second 10, 3 for the third 10, and 4 for the final ten. Any climber who falls while stretching out for the next hold is also awarded 0.1 points. And climbers must clip the top of the route to secure the full 100 points.
Combined
The judges tally the climbers’ scores in bouldering and lead for their total points. The gold, silver, and bronze medals go to the three climbers with the highest total score, regardless how they fare in each discipline. Indeed, as shown in the below example, a climber can win the gold without earning the most points in either bouldering or lead climbing.
One other interesting point, a perceived small difference in lead climbing has a dramatic impact on the results. Each additional move near the end of the route equals practically one zone in bouldering (4 points versus 5 points). Simply, to win the gold, the climber must have good lead power endurance.
Hypothetical Results
| Climber 1 | Climber 2 | Climber 3 | Climber 4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bouldering |
1st Problem |
Flash |
Flash |
Flash |
Top, second attempt |
|
2nd Problem |
Flash |
Top, second attempt |
No zone |
Zone 1, first attempt |
|
|
3rd Problem |
No zone |
Zone 1, second attempt |
No zone |
Zone 1, first attempt |
|
|
4th Problem |
No zone |
No zone |
No zone |
Zone 2, second attempt |
|
|
Points |
50 points |
54.8 points |
25 points |
44.8 points |
|
|
Lead |
Result |
41 holds |
39 holds |
48 holds |
44 holds |
|
Points |
64 points |
57 points |
92 points |
76 points |
|
|
Combined Score |
|
114 points |
111.8 points |
117 points |
120.8 points |
As you can see in the hypothetical example above, the climber who won the boulder and reached a mere nine holds less than anyone in lead, came in fourth place. The lowest scorer in bouldering almost won sport climbing by reaching four more holds in lead than anyone else. And the gold medal winner did not win either the boulder or lead events.
4. Who are the Climbers Competing for Gold?
| Women | Men |
|---|---|
|
Janja GARNBRET (SLO) |
Jakob SCHUBERT (AUT) |
|
Jessica PILZ (AUT) |
Colin DUFFY (USA) |
|
MORI Ai (JPN) |
NARASAKI Tomoa (JPN) |
|
Oriane BERTONE (FRA) |
Toby ROBERTS (GBR) |
|
Natalia GROSSMAN (USA) |
Jesse GRUPPER (USA) |
|
ZHANG Yuetong (CHN) |
ANRAKU Sorato (JPN) |
|
Oceania MACKENZIE (AUS) |
Campbell HARRISON (AUS) |
|
Lauren MUKHEIBIR (RSA) |
Mel JANSE VAN RENSBURG (RSA) |
|
Brooke RABOUTOU (USA) |
LEE Dohyun (KOR) |
|
NONAKA Miho (JPN) |
Sam AVEZOU (FRA) |
|
Erin MCNEICE (GBR) |
Adam ONDRA (CZE) |
|
SEO Chaehyun (KOR) |
Alberto GINÉS LÓPEZ (ESP) |
|
LUO Zhilu (CHN) |
Hannes VAN DUYSEN (BEL) |
|
Ievgeniia KAZBEKOVA (UKR) |
Paul JENFT (FRA) |
|
Mia KRAMPL (SLO) |
Yannick FLOHÉ (GER) |
|
Lucia DÖRFFEL (GER) |
Hamish MCARTHUR (GBR) |
|
Zélia AVEZOU (FRA) |
Sascha LEHMANN (SUI) |
|
Camilla MORONI (ITA) |
Alexander MEGOS (GER) |
|
Laura ROGORA (ITA) |
Luka POTOCAR (SLO) |
|
Molly THOMPSON-SMITH (GBR) |
PAN Yufei (CHN) |
