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Tokyo 2020 Preview - Sport Climbing

 

Tokyo 2020 Preview - Sport Climbing

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AOC
Tom O'Halloran

Sports Climbing is one of the five additional sports making its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games and will see athletes compete across three disciplines of Speed, Bouldering and Lead, with the final rankings determined by athletes' combined scores across the three.

The Format

The Sport Climbing competition is scheduled to start tonight and run through to Friday 6 August 2021, taking place at the Aomi Urban Sports Venue. History will be written as 40 athletes (20 male, 20 female) representing their countries hope to climb to victory and claim the first ever Olympic medals for the event.

In Sport Climbing, athletes compete in three disciplines: lead climbing, bouldering and speed climbing. At the Olympic Games each climber is required to compete in all three disciplines and the final ranking is determined by the combined results of the three disciplines.
The disciplines are as follows.

Lead climbing: 

Lead is a height and distance competition within a six-minute time frame. Athletes climb a fixed course on an overhanging wall. The further along the wall they travel, the more difficult the course becomes and therefore the aim is to cover the longest distance without falling off, or in the specific time frame. The lead ranking is based on the height an athlete achieves and the climbing time in case of ties.

Bouldering:

Here athletes climb fixed routes on a wall 4.5 metres in height with structures (boulders) attached. The aim of is to solve (complete) the most boulders (problems) on three/four boulders in the least number of attempts over a given period.  Different boulders are set for men and women, with four in the qualifiers and three in the final. Athletes have a limited amount of time to attempt each problem, with an additional six minutes given during the final to observe the wall. The Boulder ranking is decided by the number of problems solved, with the competitor who solved the most problems being ranked first.

Speed climbing:

In essence, speed climbing is a sprint race where athletes climb a fixed route on a 15-metre wall with holds, with the aim to reach the top in the quickest time. Athletes compete on identical routes and the Speed ranking is decided by the fastest time recorded in either the qualifying or final round.
In some disciplines, climbers attach safety ropes; however, no other equipment is permitted, and competitors must climb using only their bare hands and climbing shoes.

The competition:

Athletes compete in the three disciplines, across two phases (qualification and final) with their results consolidated into a single ranking to decide the event medallists.

At the end of the qualification phase, the first eight athletes with the lowest combined points/ranking will progress through to finals.
The athlete with the lowest number of combined points after finals will win the competition.

3 August: Men’s Qualifiers

4 August: Women’s Qualifiers

5 August: Men’s Finals 

6 August: Women’s Finals

Aussies to Watch

Tom O’Halloran and Oceania Mackenzie will pull on the green and gold for the first time and etch their names in history as our first athletes to compete in Sports Climbing at the Olympics.

Hailing from NSW, 28-year-old O’Halloran will need to place in the top eight when he competes this evening. After qualifying in first place at the

Australian Combined Climbing Championships, as well as claiming victory at the Oceania Combined Championships to qualify for the Olympic games, O’Halloran is in fighting form and ready to represent his country.

Victorian teenager, Oceania Mackenzie, has already made history becoming the second female Australian climber to ever make a final at the 2019 IFSC Boulder World Cup in Switzerland. The 19-year-old is set to be a strong contender for an Olympic podium finish.

All the action kicks off tonight at 6:00pm AEST.

Sarah Dyce

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