Climbing was introduced to the Olympics at the 2020 Tokyo Games. With only one set of medals to give out, three disciplines were combined into a single event dubbed combined. Combined Climbing was not a reasonable way of measuring the Olympic prowess of the athletes in Tokyo; the combination of speed climbing with bouldering and lead was a nonsensical move by the committee. Combining speed with lead and bouldering is the equivalent of making the Taekwondo competitors finish their day with a 110-meter hurdle race to decide who gets the gold. In light of this 2024 will be the true welcome of climbing to the Olympics.
Climbing will now be separated into the new combined category with bouldering and lead and a separate speed category. Hopefully, in four years we will get full separation between bouldering, lead, and speed, but for now, the combined category will be a good approximation for determining the best competitive climbers in the world. Below are some athletes you should keep your eyes on in the 2024 Olympic games.
Janja Garnbret - Slovenia:
1. Michael Jordan
2. Janja Garnbret
3. Wayne Gretzky
If you only have time to tune into the Olympic climbing for 5 minutes make sure it’s when Janja is climbing. Janja has not only won the most IFSC world championships she has also dominated in almost every one, there are very few athletes in the professional climbing circuit that can hold a candle to Janja’s current form. Even with the combined format in 2020 Janja won both lead and bouldering disciplines and placed high enough in speed to bring the gold medal back to Slovenia in 2020. It would take a miracle for her to not double her collection this year.
Colin Duffy - USA:
From Colorado, Colin is a hometown hero for me and I would love to see the Duff man do well in Paris this year. In the 2020 Olympics Duffy was the youngest competitor at 16, four years later at 20 this will be a real test to see if he has matured on the world stage. With elite strength and maybe the longest arms you have ever seen, I’m hopeful for Duffy’s chances.
Oriane Bertone - France
Oriane was climbing v14 at 12, she's been climbing in IFSC competitions since she was 16. This year after qualifying through the 2023 European Qualifier she could become an Olympic medalist at 19. Oriane is on a short list of climbers that can compete at Janja’s level, her strengths in bouldering often contrast Janja’s, leaving a window of opportunity if the setting leans in her favor.
Sorato Anraku - Japan
Japan has produced the majority of the best competition climbers since the mid-2000s and continues to have multiple athletes in every IFSC competition. 7x world Tomoa Narasaki was the favorite going into the 2020 games and was left with a heartbreaking 4th place. Tomoa is back in the competition this year, but the new favorite is 17-year-old Japanese phenom Sorato Anraku. Over a decade younger than 28-year-old Tomoa, Sorato is looking to take the torch of Japanese competition climbing.
Ai Mori - Japan
In an incredibly close storyline to the men's Japanese climbing prospects, 20-year-old Ai Mori is quickly coming for 27-year-old Miho Nonaka who placed second in the Olympics last year. Ai Mori has one of the most unique styles in today's competitive climbing landscape, she is patient, creative, and methodical on the wall. A complete opposite to the powerful fast style of Janja Garnbret. Her strengths are in lead climbing and with the combined bouldering and lead format she has a great chance at a silver medal.
Medalist Predictions:
Mens:
Gold: Sorato Anraku
Silver: Colin Duffy
Bronze: Toby Roberts
Womens:
Gold: Janja Garnbret
Silver: Ai Mori
Bronze: Oriane Bertone