Climbing in the Olympics: What You Need to Know | Sender One Climbing

Climbing + Tokyo Olympic Games: Everything You Need to Know

Jul 21, 2021 | Blog

After being postponed last year due to the pandemic, we are finally about to witness climbing’s debut in the Tokyo Olympic Games! In early 2020, we hosted the Pan-American Championships where Olympic hopefuls competed for their spot in the games. The final USA Olympian, Colin Duffy, was selected, along with Alannah Yip for Team Canada. It’s inspiring to think about the amount of dedication, grit, and hard work the athletes must endure in order to mark such achievements.  

Helpful Things to Know:

  • It’s not only called climbing. It will be referred to as “Sport Climbing” in the Olympics.
  • 20 men and 20 women will be competing in three separate disciplines: speed climbing, bouldering, and lead climbing.
  • Scoring is determined by multiplying the placements from each discipline. The athlete with the lowest overall number wins gold. For example, if a climber places 2nd in speed, 5th in bouldering, and 3rd in lead climbing, their total score would be 2 x 5 x 3 = 30.

When and Where to Watch:

The Sport Climbing event will be held from Tuesday, August 3rd to Friday, August 6th with the Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 23rd. You can stream live coverage of the Olympics on NBC. 

Tuesday, August 3rd - Starts at 1am PDT / 4am EDT
Men’s Combined Qualification – Speed: 1am PDT / 4am EDT
Men’s Combined Qualification – Bouldering: 2am PDT / 5am EDT
Men’s Combined Qualification – Lead: 5:10am PDT / 8:10am EDT

Wednesday, August 4th - Starts at 1am PDT / 4am EDT
Women’s Combined Qualification – Speed: 1am PDT / 4am EDT
Women’s Combined Qualification – Bouldering: 2am PDT / 5am EDT
Women’s Combined Qualification – Lead: 5:10am PDT / 8:10am EDT

Thursday, August 5th - Starts at 1:30am PDT / 4:30am EDT
Men’s Combined Final – Speed: 1:30am PDT / 4:30am EDT
Men’s Combined Final – Bouldering: 2:30am PDT / 5:30am EDT
Men’s Combined Final – Lead: 5:10am PDT / 8:10am EDT
Men’s Combined Victory Ceremony

Friday, August 6th - Starts at 1:30am PDT / 4:30am EDT
Women’s Combined Final – Speed: 1:30am PDT / 4:30am EDT
Women’s Combined Final – Bouldering: 2:30am PDT / 5:30am EDT
Women’s Combined Final – Lead: 5:10am PDT / 8:10am EDT
Women’s Combined Victory Ceremony

Take a nap before you get your favorite late-night snacks and maybe some chalk to help with those sweaty hands while you watch climbers from all around the world compete in the freakin’ Olympics! Best of luck to Kyra Condie, Brooke Raboutou, Colin Duffy, and Nathaniel Coleman.  We’re rooting for you, Team USA!

Bonus content: check out this video filmed at Sender One LAX on How to Sport Climb like an Olympian featuring Josh Levin and the Try Guys!

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