Competition climbing

Competition climbing dates from the arrival of sport climbing in the mid-1980s, which is a type of rock climbing where the climbing protection is pre-bolted into the climbing route, so the climber does not have to worry about their safety while ascending. Some were reticent about the ethics of competitive climbing, and in early 1985, several leading climbers signed the , rejecting the concept. However, later in 1985, the first internationally recognized competition climbing event was held at Sportroccia, which later became the annual Rock Master competition. These were annual lead climbing competitions held outdoors on natural rock surfaces and their first winners were Stefan Glowacz, Patrick Edlinger and Catherine Destivelle. In 1988–89, the French Federation and Paul Brasset convinced the UIAA to regulate and administer competition climbing; it was agreed that events would be held on indoor artificial climbing walls and governed by the a UIAA-subgroup known as the International Council for Competition Climbing (ICC). During August 3–6, 2021, Alberto Ginés López and Janja Garnbret won the first-ever men's and women's Olympic climbing gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, in the newly created combined event consisting of all three disciplines. After the Tokyo Olympics, it was announced that the 2024 Paris Olympics would only combine lead climbing and bouldering into a single medal event, with speed climbing as a standalone medal event. == Disciplines ==

Competition lead climbing , lead climbing with quickdraw clipped in, at the 2016 IFSC Climbing World Championships In competition lead climbing, the competitors have 6 minutes to climb a challenging, and usually significantly overhanging, pre-bolted sport-climbing route (with pre-placed quickdraws for their protection), constructed by a route setter. The climber is allowed one single attempt at the route. Competition bouldering in Munich In competition bouldering, the competitors have to "solve" multiple short bouldering problems over a set time period, with the fewest falls. After all the climbs are completed, points are counted between competitors, with the competitor with the highest score being the winner. Competition speed climbing (Lane A) beats Vladislav Deulin (Lane B) in the bronze medal elimination at the 2020 IFSC European Championships In competition speed climbing, the competitors must ascend a , slightly overhanging, standardised climbing wall, where, unlike leading climbing or bouldering, the holds are always the exact same size and placed in the exact same location. The IFSC combined all three events into one competition from 2017 to 2021, after which they split out speed but kept boulder and lead in a combined format. Triple combination As sport climbing was allocated only a single medal per gender at its Olympic debut in 2020, the IFSC opted to merge lead, boulder and speed into a single format, first held at the 2017 Climbing Youth World Championships. Individual rounds were scored as usual. For the overall result, an athletes ranks in each of the three competitions were multiplied, leaving the competitor with the lowest score as the winner. Boulder & Lead (2024 Olympics) For the 2024 Olympics two medals per gender were allocated. Speed climbing is now separate from the Boulder & Lead competition. Each of the four boulders features two zones worth 5 and 10 points respectively, and a top worth 25 points. Points are awarded for the highest hold controlled by the climber, minus 0.1 points for each attempt needed to reach that hold. On the lead route, the last ten holds from the top are worth 4 points each, the 10 before those 3 points each etc. If the last hold reached is not only controlled but used to progress along the route, 0.1 points will be added to the score. The scores of each round are added, and the competitor with the highest score as the winner. == Notable competitions ==

World Climbing The most important competition climbing events are administered by World Climbing (was previously called the IFSC): • World Climbing Championship (previously, the IFSC Climbing World Championship), a biennial event (i.e. every two years), for male and female rock climbers with medals awarded in the four disciplines of lead climbing, bouldering, speed climbing, and combined (from the first three). • World Climbing Series (previously, the IFSC Climbing World Cup), an annual competition, spread over several individual events held at locations around the world during the year, for male and female rock climbers with medals awarded at the final event to the aggregate overall winners across all events in the four disciplines of lead climbing, bouldering, speed climbing, and combined (from the first three). Olympics Climbing was included for the first time in the 2020 Olympics as an additional sport. In the 2024 Olympics, boulder-and-lead combined and speed climbing were held as separate events. On 3 February 2022, the IOC designated competition climbing as a core Summer Olympic sport starting with the 2028 Olympics. ==Notable competition climbers==

As of 2025, the most successful overall male competition climber in history is Austrian climber Jakob Schubert, followed by Czech climber Adam Ondra, and French climber François Legrand. Legrand is the most successful lead competition climber, Austrian climber Kilian Fischhuber is the most successful bouldering competition climber, and Chinese climber Zhong Qixin is the most successful speed competition climber. As of 2025, the most successful overall female competition climber in history is Slovenian climber Janja Garnbret, followed by French climber Sandrine Levet, and Austrian climber Angela Eiter. Garnbret is also the most successful lead competition climber, Levet also is the most successful bouldering competition climber, and Russian climber Tatiana Ruyga is the most successful speed competition climber. As of 2025, Garnbret is the most dominant competition climber, male or female, of all time. Notable non-competition climbers As competition climbing developed in the 1980s, some of the leading sport climbers ignored it to focus on setting grade milestones in sport climbing. German climber Wolfgang Güllich, the strongest sport climber of that era, avoided the competition circuit saying: "competitions are good for earning money, I see it as nothing more". In 2001, American climber Chris Sharma, the strongest sport climber of his era, also retired early from competition climbing saying: "Personally, that's not ever really been my deal. I mean, competitions are fun, but 15 minutes after the competition they take the holds off. It's way more important for me to put up new routes and develop my vision in rock climbing. Create a legacy, create something lasting. No one remembers who won the freakin' World Cup in 1997, but people know who put up Action Directe. Since 2010 however, it has become increasingly rare for leading male and female rock climbers, both in sport climbing and bouldering, not to begin their careers as successful competition climbers. ==In film==

• The Wall: Climb for Gold, a 2022 film documentary on Janja Garnbret, Shauna Coxsey, Brooke Raboutou, and Miho Nonaka. ==See also==