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    • Sport climbing causes a stir at the Olympic Games in Paris after format change
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    Sport climbing causes a stir at the Olympic Games in Paris after format change

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

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    LE BOURGET, France — Aleksandra Miroslaw, a ponytailed Polish sport climber, stormed up the speed climbing wall on Wednesday and won more than just a gold medal.

    She officially introduced the sport’s amazing speed to the Olympic Games and received a shiny medal in recognition of her skills.

    Yes, sport climbing made its debut at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but due to the strange competition format, you probably haven’t heard too much about its blistering speed.

    Imagine if Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter in Olympic history, could have been asked to do more than just run the 100 meters to win a medal, but rather to win an event that required him to combine times in the 100, the 1,500, and perhaps the steeplechase.

    Sounds silly?

    This was essentially the requirement for climbers at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when the sport made its Olympic debut.

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    There are three competitive disciplines in sport climbing: “speed,” the sport climbing equivalent of the 100-meter dash, and “boulder” and “lead,” which are closer to traditional rock climbing. In Tokyo, climbers competed in all three disciplines, with the total number of points determining the medal winners.

    Miroslaw broke the women’s speed climbing world record in Tokyo, but there was no special moment. (The women’s gold medal went to Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret for her victory in the combined speed/boulder/lead event.)

    Here at the Games in Paris, Miroslaw broke the world record twice and there was an unforgettable moment:

    In Wednesday’s final, she climbed the wall in 6.10 seconds – 0.08 seconds faster than China’s Deng Lijuan. She pumped her fists in victory as she descended her rope, then cheered as she was awarded gold at the medal ceremony.

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    Nowadays, sport climbing is developing almost as fast as Miroslaw. Originally, the international federation did not even expect to participate in the Olympic Games before 2028, said Fabrizio Rossini, communications director of the International Federation of Sport Climbing.

    The credit for this goes to the International Olympic Committee, which has recognised this sport, which has attracted such large and noisy crowds to the Le Bourget climbing stadium since the competitions began on Monday.

    The public seems to understand and appreciate the different disciplines. Bouldering and lead remained combined. Whether they should be separated in time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles to win more medals is a topic for another day.

    According to Rossini, the decision to introduce speed as a separate discipline was partly due to financial reasons.

    The more medals, the more athletes, the higher the costs, he said.

    Without conducting an audit, the scene confirmed the investment in a direct comparison on Wednesday.

    American Emma Hunt reached the quarterfinals but slipped halfway up the wall, and in elite speed climbing you can’t afford to make any mistakes. A new top group could be established in Poland, with Miroslaw winning gold and Poland’s Aleksandra Kalucka taking bronze. (Kalucka has a twin sister who is almost as good, but each country can only send two men and two women per event.)

    The speed show is not over yet.

    The competition continues on Thursday with the men’s quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The 18-year-old American Sam Watson had already broken the world record in the qualification on Tuesday with a time of 4.75 seconds.

    And Miroslaw, well, she might as well have been talking about speed climbing at the Olympics on Tuesday when asked how fast she can go.

    “The sky is the limit,” she said.

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    Madoc Meredith
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