{"id":31212,"date":"2024-07-30T09:29:20","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T08:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mensfitness.co.uk\/?p=31212"},"modified":"2024-07-30T09:30:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T08:30:21","slug":"sport-climbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mensfitness.co.uk\/features\/sport-climbing\/","title":{"rendered":"All you need to know about sport climbing at Paris 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sport climbing<\/a> will feature in its second Olympics at Paris 2024 \u2013 but with a new format and riding on the back of a surge in popularity. Thanks in part to the worldwide coverage the Tokyo 2020 Games gave the sport, climbing now boasts over 25-million enthusiasts in 150 countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClimbing is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world,\u201d Team GB medal hopeful Hamish McArthur<\/a> told me in an exclusive interview before the Games began. \u201cYou can see it from the increasing number of climbing walls and people taking up the sport as a hobby. The exposure from the Olympics has been incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sport\u2019s organized competitions began in 1985 with SportRoccia in Bardonecchia, Italy, followed by the first artificial wall event in Vaulx-en-Velin, France, in 1986. Sport climbing debuted on the Olympic stage at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, gaining popularity for its spectacle and suspense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It joined the Tokyo 2020 Games and will continue as one of the additional sports in Paris 2024 alongside breaking, surfing, and skateboarding. Climbing looks like it\u2019s got a firm foothold, too, as it\u2019s confirmed as being part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Hamish
Team GB hopeful Hamish McArthur<\/a><\/em> \u00a9\ufe0fLena Drapella\/IFSC<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Climbing at the Olympics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Until this Olympics, sport climbing has comprised of three formats: bouldering, speed, and lead. In bouldering, athletes climb 4.5m walls without ropes, aiming for the fewest attempts within a limited time. Speed climbing is a head-to-head race up a 15m wall, with top athletes completing it in under six seconds for men and seven seconds for women. The lead event challenges climbers to ascend as high as possible on a 15m wall within six minutes, without prior knowledge of the route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut for Paris bouldering and lead climbing are combined, while speed climbing has its own medal,\u201d explains McArthur. \u201cBouldering is about power, coordination, and fast movements, while lead climbing focuses more on endurance, efficiency, and technique. They are different, but they complement each other well. The best boulderers are often also the best lead climbers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speed event also captures the imagination of newcomers to the sport for its sheer pace and agility, as two climbers aim to be the first to reach the top of the climb in the quickest time. It looks, to the untrained eye, like a mad scramble by Spiderman wannabees, but McArthur insists it\u2019s much more complex: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very delicate, almost like a dance when it goes well and things flow. A lot of my preparation is about zoning into that feeling. There\u2019s a lot of physical training too. It\u2019s a highly physical sport where you need really good coordination and awareness of where all your limbs are and how much force you’re applying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCompeting in climbing is about making tiny micro-adjustments and decisions under pressure. From the outside, it looks very macro\u2014big muscle groups and big movements \u2014and yeah, you need to be as strong as possible in every body part. But at this level, the mental dance makes the most difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Hamish McArthur (@hamish_mcarthur)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>