Sport climbing: how it works, rules and how many medals it awards

L’sport climbing is making his second Olympic appearance after making his first appearance in Tokyo 2020 with two events: the men’s and women’s combined. In Paris the medals doubled as the speed specialty was separated from the combined, for both men and women. Here’s how it works.

Combined (boulder and lead): the rules

Unlike Tokyo, medals are awarded by adding together the scores of only two specialties: boulder e lead. In bouldering, athletes must climb 4 different 4.5-meter high walls without a safety rope. Each run, lasting a maximum of 5 minutes, awards a maximum of 25 points if you manage to reach the top of the wall. On each wall there are 3 specific holds, which give points if they can be held in a controlled manner: lower area 5 points, upper area 10 points, upper hold 25 points. If you fall, you start again. For each additional attempt per boulder, 0.1 points are deducted.

In lead, athletes must try to reach the top of the wall within 6 minutes. It is a very complicated wall, with a variety of difficult holds to grab and large spaces, which can be inclined up to 60° with respect to the ground. The average overhang is 8-9 meters, so you climb practically upside down. During the climb, athletes must pass the rope inside the protection points, quick-opening carabiners, respecting the progressive order in which they are placed and without skipping any. To determine the rankings, the last hold on which the climber managed to maintain a stable position is valid. Only holds controlled with the hands are counted.

The first 10 holds are worth 4 points each, the 10 handles below are worth 3 points, the next 10 are worth 2 points each and the 10 before are worth 1 point each. Holds (in the starting area) before the last 40 holds are not counted. The maximum number of points to reach the top is 100. The climbers who manage to get as high as possible on the wall win. Among those who reach the top, the one with the best time wins. If you fall, you are out. The top 8 in the combined ranking go to the final which consists of a boulder challenge and a lead challenge. In the final, the 8 athletes have only 4 minutes (instead of 5 minutes) for each wall. The one with the most combined points is the Olympic champion.

Speed

In the speed Athletes compete to see who can reach the top of a 15-meter-high, 5°-sloped wall the fastest. The wall has two identical lanes of holds that are side by side, and the two climbers climb at the same time. The athlete starts the stopwatch with one foot and stops it with the hand when they reach the top. A harness and a rope already fixed to the top are used for protection. In the first qualifying round, all 14 athletes climb both routes in time. The best time is counted and the worst is discarded to determine the ranking for the knockout heats in which two climbers compete against each other.

The challenge board is composed as follows: the fastest against the slowest, the second fastest against the second slowest and so on. The winners of the 7 heat duels qualify for the quarterfinals, which the loser with the best time in the qualifications also enters. The 8 fastest then challenge each other in a head-to-head duel and thus compete for the quarterfinals, the semifinals, the final for the bronze medal and the final. In this specialty, the Italian is in the final Matthew Zurloni.