Today sees Sport Climbing take to the summer Olympic stage for the very first time in the history of the Olympic Games. The Aomi Urban Sports Park will welcome 20 climbers representing 15 National Olympic Committees for the men’s Combined qualification event.
Competing on home soil at the Games, Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki won gold in the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Combined World Championships Hachioji 2019. The 25-year-old also took the win in the 2016 and 2019 Boulder World Championships and has 23 IFSC World Cup medals to his name. Narasaki is therefore pinned as an Olympian to keep an eye on in Sport Climbing’s debut at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Also of Japan, 22-year-old Kai Harada claimed first place at the inaugural ANOC World Beach Games Doha 2019, in addition to the 2018 title of Boulder World Champion. Could Team Japan see two athletes reach the men’s Combined final on Thursday?
Combined and Lead World Champion of 2018, Jakob Schubert (30) of Austria, qualified for the Games in second place after taking silver at the 2019 Combined World Championships. Since the start of his competitive career in 2007, Schubert has stood atop the podium on the international Sport Climbing circuit an impressive 69 times. Qualifying behind Schubert in third place, Kazakhstan’s Rishat Khaibullin (25) is one-to-watch in the Speed section of the men’s Combined event. With a Speed personal best of 5.53 seconds – just 0.33 away from the current men’s Speed world record – could Khailbullin take the first ever men’s Speed Olympic record in Tokyo? Reigning Speed World Champion Ludovico Fossali (24), of Italy, and France’s Bassa Mawem (36), are also strong contenders for the Olympic record.
The men’s Combined qualification round begins at 5:00 PM (UTC+9:00) today, and the line-up is as follows:
For the full schedule and results, click here