Climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics: How It Works, Team USA Stars, and More

Climbing at the Olympics

Climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Before its official inclusion, the sport was first introduced at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in 2018. The addition of climbing, along with skateboarding and surfing, was part of a broader effort to include more urban sports and attract a younger audience. Sport climbing will continue to be part of the program for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.

How Olympic Climbing Works

Olympic sport climbing is divided into three disciplines: bouldering, speed, and lead.

Bouldering: Athletes climb a 4.5-meter wall (nearly 15 feet) without ropes within a limited time and in as few attempts as possible.

Lead: Climbers aim to reach the highest point on a 15-meter wall (nearly 50 feet) within six minutes, making a single attempt.

Speed: In this discipline, climbers race against each other and the clock to scale a 15-meter wall with a five-degree incline. The top male athletes can complete this climb in less than six seconds, while the best female climbers typically finish in under seven seconds.

A significant change for the Paris 2024 Olympics is that speed climbing will be a separate event, while bouldering and lead remain combined. This allows climbers to specialize in their preferred disciplines.

The scoring system has also been updated from the Tokyo Games. Previously, scores from each discipline were multiplied to determine the final score. Now, with speed climbing as a separate event, bouldering and lead have a maximum combined score of 200 points. In bouldering, climbers score points by advancing through various “zones” (5 points for the low zone, 10 points for the high zone) and reaching the top hold (25 points). Points are deducted for attempts, with a perfect round worth 100 points. In lead, climbers score by successfully holding the top 40 holds, with points increasing as they move higher. If a climber attempts but fails to secure the next hold, they receive 0.1 points on top of their previous score.

Twenty men and 20 women will compete in bouldering/lead. In the speed discipline, 14 competitors for both men and women will participate in two speed runs on different walls. Rankings based on their fastest times will determine matchups for the elimination rounds.

Top Team USA Athletes for Climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Sam Watson: At 18 years old, Watson holds the men’s speed world record with a time of 4.79 seconds. He finished 2023 ranked eighth in the world in men’s speed and won gold at the Pan American Games in Santiago.

Natalia Grossman: Grossman ended last year ranked No. 1 in women’s boulder and fifth in the combined boulder & lead category. She also took gold in boulder & lead at the Pan American Games.

Brooke Raboutou: Raboutou, who finished fifth in Tokyo, is the daughter of former climbing world cup champions Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou and Didier Raboutou. She speaks fluent French and has a strong climbing pedigree.

Top International Athletes for Climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Janja Garnbret (Slovenia): The reigning women’s gold medalist in lead/bouldering will be competing again in Paris.

Aleksandra Miroslav (Poland): A standout in women’s speed climbing, Miroslav is a strong contender.

Ai Mori (Japan): Mori is a formidable competitor in women’s boulder/lead.

Rahmad Adi Mulyono and Veddriq Leonardo (Indonesia): Both climbers are strong contenders in men’s speed, challenging Watson for the podium.

Jakob Schubert (Australia): A four-time world champion, Schubert is a top contender in men’s lead/bouldering.