Sports Bulletin Report
ISLAMABAD:-The first officially sanctioned test event of the Boulder & Lead format to feature at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is set to take place on 4 and 5 March at the Sharma Climbing gym in Gavà, Spain.
Unlike the Combined format that featured at Sport Climbing’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 last summer, Paris 2024 will see medals awarded to Speed athletes separately, as well as to climbers in the new Boulder & Lead discipline, the rules for which were officially published last on 9 February in the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC)’s Rules 2022.
The event will be open to Spanish athletes only, with Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Alberto Ginés López topping the bill. Three IFSC Officials will also attend the competition: IFSC Jury President Tim Hatch, IFSC Boulder Chief Routesetter Remi Samyn, and IFSC Lead Chief Routesetter Jan Zbranek.
IFSC President Marco Scolaris said:
“We are delighted to hold this test event in Barcelona, in the home country of one of our first two Olympic Champions. It is a true pleasure to meet again with a climbing legend and friend like Chris, and to see the passion that he and the whole Sharma Climbing organisation put into this event.”
Sharma Climbing Gavà, located in the suburbs of Barcelona, is owned and operated by climbing legend Chris Sharma. The Santa Cruz, California native earned an enduring reputation as one of the world’s best rock climbers for record-setting redpoints and deep-water solos in the 2000s to mid 2010s.
“At Sharma Climbing we are very excited to be able to carry out the first Olympic rehearsal with the new format that will be used in Paris 2024. Being able to experiment it with the Spanish team, led by the current Olympic Champion Alberto Ginés López, is a dream come true. It’s a huge honor to be a benchmark in the world of climbing and to help project the sport that has shaped me and given me the greatest joy,” said Sharma.
The new Boulder & Lead format will make its official competitive debut at the European Championships Munich 2022, scheduled from 11 to 21 August. Qualifications for the test event in Gavà will be held on 4 March, with the finals scheduled for 5 March. The competition, which will be jointly organized by the IFSC, Federación Española de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada (FEDME).
“We are very happy to have the opportunity to collaborate with the IFSC and Sharma Climbing, and test the new Olympic format. It is of great importance for us as a National Federation, both to prepare our athletes, and to start having a national ranking in the lead up to the Olympic Games París 2024,” said FEDME Technical Manager Lluis Giner.
