Whether it’s an athlete scaling a wall at breakneck speed like Spider-Man or a climber making a difficult maneuver look easy, sport climbing is definitely an event that attracts attention. But what exactly is it?

Sport climbing is a form of competitive climbing that dates back to the 1940s in the former USSR. The sport, which garnered interest in the 1980s and is currently experiencing a boom in popularity, was first introduced at the Tokyo Olympics.

There are three different disciplines in sport climbing: speed, bouldering and lead, each requiring both physical and mental strength. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, sport climbing was held as a single event combining the three disciplines. In Paris, sport climbing will be held as two separate events, with speed being one standalone event and bouldering and lead combining the other.

speed

Speed ​​consists of a one-on-one showdown between two climbers attempting to scale a 15-meter wall with a 95-degree angle in the fastest time possible. Unlike Boulder or Lead, Speed ​​emphasizes speed over technical ability. And unlike Boulder and Lead, the route in Speed ​​is identical for all climbers.

boulder

Bouldering is a more technical form of climbing in which athletes attempt to climb multiple routes or solve “boulder problems” on a four-meter-high wall without the aid of a safety rope. While bouldering is a timed sport, unlike speed, speed is not the main focus. In bouldering, routes are hidden from climbers until the competition begins, and they must use both their physical strength and problem-solving skills to succeed.

Lead

Lead is similar to bouldering in that climbers’ time is measured as they only have one attempt to climb a 15-meter wall. Unlike bouldering, however, athletes have a safety rope that they attach to a so-called quickdraw, a device that allows the rope to run freely when leading. Attaching the rope allows climbers to progress while climbing. Another difference to bouldering: in lead, climbers have an observation phase where they can oversee the climb, whereas in bouldering (in the semi-finals) athletes cannot see the route before the competition.

speed

In speed climbing, two climbers, one on track A and the other on track B, start climbing simultaneously when a buzzer sounds. If a climber leaves the ground less than 0.1 seconds after the buzzer sounds, it is a false start and the climber is classified last in the corresponding round.

A climb is completed when an athlete touches a touch pad at the top of each lane, which stops the clock. Scoring is simple. The fastest time wins. In qualifying rounds, the 14 athletes have two attempts to climb the wall and are seeded according to the fastest of their two times.

Athletes then compete based on their ranking (e.g. 14 against 1), and eight climbers, the winner of each head-to-head match, and the fastest climber who lost their head-to-head match advance to the quarterfinals. The winner of each quarterfinal advances to the semifinals, where the winners compete for the gold medal and the losers for the bronze.

boulder

In bouldering, route setters design the “boulder problems” so that each one is unique to the climber. Athletes have four minutes to “climb” the boulders. A climber has “climbed” a boulder once he or she has placed both hands on the top hold and maintained control long enough for an official to declare it a success.

Between the starting position and the top of each boulder there are two zone handles or checkpoints, i.e. areas where partial points can be reached.

The maximum score climbers can achieve is 100 points. They receive 25 points for each boulder climbed. They receive 10 points for reaching the second checkpoint and 5 points for reaching the first checkpoint. If a climber fails to reach a zone or climb a boulder, 0.1 points are deducted, but only if the athlete reaches the zone later or climbs the boulder.

Lead

In lead climbing, each climber has six minutes to observe a unique route before the competition begins. Each athlete is given one attempt and six minutes to climb the 15-meter wall, using rope and quickdraw to progress. If a climber does not attach their rope to the quickdraw, their progress is voided.

There are at least 40 holds on each wall, but only the top 40 holds count towards the points. If the top hold is reached, a climber achieves the maximum score of 100 points.

Four points are awarded for reaching a single hold among the ten highest holds (40-31), three points for the next ten highest holds (30-21), two points for the third highest holds (20-11), and one point for the lowest holds (10-1). If a climber moves toward the next hold but fails to reach it, he or she receives 0.1 points.

In Paris, the results from bouldering and lead are added together to a maximum of 200 points. Climbers are ranked according to their results. There are semi-finals and a final, with separate bouldering and lead competitions in each round.

The best eight points from the semifinals advance to the final. In the final round of Boulder, the route changes and athletes have eight minutes to observe the wall, which is a change from the semifinal round. The route also changes in the lead final.

The climber with the highest total score wins.