Olympics 2024: After difficult debut, sport climbing seeks new heights in Paris

Cape Town: Sport climbing's debut at the Tokyo Olympic Games was a bittersweet experience following criticism of the format from athletes, but with an extra gold medal on offer in 2024, there is more optimism heading to Paris.

There was a single event each for male and female competitors in Japan that combined the three climbing disciplines, bouldering, lead and speed, and so athletes had to train for formats they previously did not take part in.

"It was a bit strange because we were given only one medal and so decided to combine the three disciplines together, which was a bit complicated," International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) president Marco Scolaris told Reuters.

"The speed climber had to train for boulder and lead, and vice-versa, and these disciplines are very different from one another. They did not feel comfortable with the process and the reaction (from climbers) was quite violent."

Despite this, the success of the sport’s debut as a spectacle in Tokyo, and its growth in popularity globally, means a second medal is on offer in Paris, allowing for the speed competition to be separate from bouldering and lead.

Times have tumbled in the speed discipline this year, with Sam Watson from the United States setting a new world record twice within an hour at an event in April.

Watson, 18, took the record from 4.90 seconds on the 15-metre wall to 4.85 and then 4.79.

The American, an avid chess player, sees parallels between his two favourite pursuits as he chases a gold medal.

"You can analyse every single move, it’s so incredibly nuanced and I like the idea that you can never be perfect at it," he told Olympics.com.

Bubbling in the background ahead of the Games is the issue of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), where athletes limit calorie intake to dangerous levels to shed weight, which can lead to serious health issues.

It is an obvious advantage for sport climbers to be lighter and amid growing concerns, the IFSC has introduced the monitoring of competitors at national federation level and random testing in international competition.

Many sport climbers are in their teens and the IFSC feels a responsibility to make sure the exuberance of youth does not lead to poor decision-making.

"When you are 17 or 18 years old, you don’t have the maturity to evaluate what can happen in the future," Scolaris says.

"You must have the right people around you that eradicate the culture of winning at any cost, because the cost to your health is high."