Tokyo Olympic Resources for Climbing Industry Insiders

SEE PARIS OLYMPICS RESOURCES HERE

It took five years after the announcement that climbing will be at the Olympics in Tokyo for the event to happen. Things certainly didn’t gone as planned: the event was postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the pandemic, the qualification process determining climbing’s first Olympians was impacted, and very few spectators were able to attend. But climbing’s long-awaited Olympic debut finally happened, and the hype in the climbing industry is as high as ever.

40 of the world’s best climbing athletes (20 women, 20 men) representing 19 countries and five continents competed in Tokyo. Countless articles on the subject have been written by climbing and non-endemic media, and we’ve curated the best of the bunch below. Without further ado, here is everything you need to know about climbing’s first Olympics.

WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH

• Results: Olympics.com
• Live & Replays: NBC (USA), CBC (CAN), BBC (UK), Eurosport (Europe), other locations
• August 3: Men’s Combined Qualification
• August 4: Women’s Combined Qualification
• August 5: Men’s Combined Final
• August 6: Women’s Combined Final

CLIMBING MEDIA COVERAGE

• Full Olympic Climbing Results – American Nathaniel Coleman Medals
• Full Olympics Coverage from Climbing Magazine
• Full Olympics Coverage from Gripped Magazine
• Full Olympics Coverage from UK Climbing

ORGANIZATIONS

• International Olympic Committee
• International Federation of Sport Climbing
• USA Climbing
• Climbing Escalade Canada
• GB Climbing

OLYMPIC CLIMBING ESSENTIALS

1. Meet the 2020 Olympic Climbing Athletes (John Burgman, Gym Climber)
2. Olympic Climbing 101: Everything You Need to Know About Climbing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (John Burgman, Gym Climber)
3. The Idiot’s Guide to Olympic Climbing (John Burgman, Climbing)
4. Olympic Climbing Dictionary for Dummies (John Burgman, Climbing)
5. Olympic Competition Climbing – Explained (Noah Walker, Gripped)
6. Video: A Brief History of Competition Climbing (EpicTV)
7. The Olympics Are Coming: So Might A Membership Bump (CWA)

OLYMPIC PERSPECTIVE & COMMENTARY (BEFORE & AFTER)

1. Is Olympic Lead Climbing Boring, And Could It’s Future Hinge on Routesetters? (Corey Buhay, Gym Climber)
2. Male Olympic boulder setting complaints (8a.nu)
3. Video: So… Did The Climbing Olympic Scoring Work? (EpicTV)
4. Video: What are the Olympic Games like? Ft. Will Hammersla (BETA Routesetting)
5. Video: The Olympic Crack – Wide Boyz Analyse (Wide Boyz)
6. Video: Climbing Is Olympic, Janja Ain’t The GOAT Just Yet, More (Tyler Norton, Plastic Weekly)
7. How did the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Impact Athlete Social Media Followings? (Natalie Berry, UK Climbing)
8. Podcast: Olympics Recap (Climbing Gold)
9. Climbing is a hit at the Tokyo Olympics – but does it reward the best athletes? (Tom Dart, The Guardian)
10. In Climbing, Finding a Way Up Is Just One of the Calculations (John Branch, NY Times)
11. Climbing, The Bitter Taste of Olympism (Jocelyn Chavy, Alpine Mag)
12. Good Riddance, Combined Format (Andrew Bisharat, Evening Sends)
13. Highs and Lows in Tokyo (8a.nu)
14. Let’s Stop Bashing Speed Climbing And Accept That It’s Legitimate (John Burgman, Climbing)
15. Video: Climbing Is Olympic, Janja Ain’t The GOAT Just Yet, More (Tyler Norton, Plastic Weekly)
16. Podcast: Olympics Recap (Climbing Gold)
17. Climbers are Olympians for the first time (Chris Weidner, Daily Camera)
18. Lynn Hill on the Olympics and Brooke Raboutou, “Glad It’s Her and Not Me!” (Alison Osius, Climbing)
19. Big Names Like Alex Honnold Won’t Be Climbing in Tokyo. Here’s Why. (John Burgman, Outside)
20. Podcast: At The Olympics, Sport Climbing Reaches New Heights (Avery Kleinman, 1A WAMU NPR)
21. Are you really excited about climbing in the Olympics? (Andrew Bisharat, Evening Sends)
22. Who Can Beat Adam Ondra and Janja Garnbret In the Olympics (John Burgman, Climbing)
23. Derided By Many, Speed Climbing Could Still Decide Who Gets Olympic Gold (John Burgman, Climbing)
24. Olympic Podium Preview – Women’s Climbing (Noah Walker, Gripped)
25. Who will make the female final in Tokyo? (8a.nu)
26. Who will make the male final in Tokyo? (8a.nu)
27. 6 things you probably didn’t know about climbing and the Olympics (Sarah Stirling, British Mountaineering Council)
28. What We Learned from the American Climbers’ Olympic Press Conference (John Burgman, CBJ)
29. Spectators Think Climbers Are Failures. IFSC President Hopes to Change That (John Burgman, Climbing)
30. Video: How is Sport Climbing going to change the Olympics? (IFSC)
31. How Did We Get Four Olympians? (Francis Sanzaro, Climbing)
32. What Do Climbing, Surfing and Skateboarding Have in Common? (Francis Sanzaro,  Climbing)
33. Why Are So Many Olympians Getting Injured? (Owen Clarke, Gym Climber)
34. What does it take to become an Olympic climber? (Sam Laird, UK Climbing)
35. Video: How Skateboarding, Surfing, and Climbing Became Olympic Sports (Olympic Channel)
36. Climbing to make its Olympic debut at Tokyo Games (AP & USA Today)
37. The Olympics Are in Tokyo, Is Team Japan Poised to Beat Everyone? (John Burgman, Climbing)
38. Meet the Next Gen Olympic Hopefuls Gunning for Paris 2024 (Delaney Miller, Climbing)
39. Alex Johnson and the Gift of Not Going to the Olympics (Alex Johnson, Climbing)
40. Video: O Que Podemos Esperar Das Olimpiadas De Toquio? Feat: John Burgman (Revista Blog de Escalada)
41. Climbing Featured in Upcoming Tokyo Olympics Video Game (CBJ)

OLYMPIC ATHLETE PROFILES & INTERVIEWS

1. Surprise. Surprise. Nathaniel Coleman Didn’t Believe He’d Made Olympic Finals, Then He Won Silver. (Kevin Corrigan, Climbing)
2. Podcast: Try Harder ft. Kyra Condie (Climbing Gold)
3. Olympics 2020 Athletes to Know – Rock Climber Brooke Raboutou (Ari Schneider, Teen Vogue)
4. Video: Colin Duffy on the Olympics, Training, and the Future (Gym Climber)
5. Video: Brooke Raboutou on the Olympic Journey, Mental Preparation and Her Biggest Weaknesses (Gym Climber)
6. Video: Adam Ondra on the Olympics, Mental Strength, Why He Loves Climbing, and Much More (Gym Climber)
7. Mia Krampl – Enjoying Every Single Second (Owen Clarke, Gym Climber
8. The Olympic Climber Who Beat Covid-19 (Noah Walker, Gripped)
9. Video: Sean McColl – How playing piano made me a better climber (Olympics.com)
10. Augmented Reality – Sport Climbing Brooke Raboutou (The Washington Post)
11. Chaehyun Seo is the biggest Olympic outsider (8a.nu)
12. The Queen of Speed – Iuliia Kaplina (Owen Clarke, Gym Climber)
13. Video: Climber Kyra Condie Trains TIME’s Sean Gregory on New Olympic Event (TIME)
14. Anouck Jaubert – Qualified Olympian and Former Speed World Record Holder (Owen Clarke, Gym Climber)
15. Meet the Olympic Climbers You’ve Never Heard Of (Owen Clarke, Climbing)
16. The Dream – Olympic Tactics with Sean McColl (Noah Walker, Gripped)
17. Olympic Wildcard Colin Duffy May Be the Youngest Climbing Competitor – and the Spoiler (Delaney Miller, Climbing)
18. The Tokyo Olympics will be Akiyo Noguchi’s First… and Last (Owen Clarke, Climbing)
19. Olympian Alanna Yip Took the Long Road to the Games (Delaney Miller, Climbing)
20. Aleksei Rubtsov Proves That You Don’t Have To Start Young To Be The Best (Delaney Miller, Gym Climber)
21. As Her Sport Makes Its Olympic Debut, American Climber Kyra Condie Is on a Mission to Do More Than Win (Sean Gregory, Time)
22. Grabbing The Chance feat. Brooke Raboutou (Adidas)
23. Meet Nathanial Coleman and Hear How She’s Preparing for Tokyo (Climbing)
24. Meet Kyra Condia and Hear How She’s Preparing for Tokyo (Climbing)
25. Jessica Pilz, Olympic-Qualified Athlete, Has Complete A4 Pulley Rupture (Gym Climber)
26. Meet Tom O’Halloran – Olympic Qualified Athlete From Down Under (Owen Clarke, Gym Climber)
27. Brooke Raboutou – An Eye on Olympic Gold (John Burgman, Climbing)
28. Meet Christopher Cosser, Olympic-Bound South African Climber (Owen Clarke, Gym Climber)
29. Kyra Condie’s Homewall – Future Olympians Need Woodies Too (CBJ)
30. Climber Colin Duffy on How School Going Virtual Has Helped Him Find Training Time for  Olympics (Lindsay Kimble, People)

OLYMPIC TEAM PROFILES

1. Meet the Olympic Climbing Team USA (John Burgman, Gym Climber)
2. Inside the Training Lab of Team USA (Francis Sanzaro, Climbing)
3. What It’s Like – A Day Behind the Curtain With Team USA (Francis Sanzaro, Climbing)
4. How The US Olympic Team is Quarantining In Tokyo (Jessica Talley, Gym Climber)
5. We are GB Climbing (Niall Grimes, British Mountaineering Council)
6. The Chinese Olympic Duo (Owen Clarke, Gym Climber)
7. Team Crush – Behind the Curtain at Slovenia’s Success Factory (Delaney Miller, Gym Climber)
8. Meet Olympic Teams USA, Japan, Slovenia, Czech Republic (John Burgman, Climbing)
9. Meet Olympic Teams Switzerland, Italy, Spain, China and Russia (John Burgman, Climbing)
10. Meet Olympic Teams South Korea, Australia, South Africa, Poland and Kazkhstan (John Burgman, Climbing)
11. Meet Olympic Teams Austria, Great Britain, Germany, France and Canada (John Burgman, Climbing)
12. Video: Tokyo 2020+1 – Mad Rock Olympic Team (Mad Rock)

OLYMPIC SUPPORT STAFF

1. Officials Behind the Scenes of Sport Climbing’s Olympic Debut (Natalie Berry, UK Climbing)
2. Meg Coyne USA Climbing Team Manager (Francis Sanzaro, Gym Climber)
3. Video: US Olympic Head Coach Josh Larson On the “Opportunity of a Lifetime” (Climbing)
4. Ryan Arment Coaches Team USA Climbers Through Failure – and Success (Francis Sanzaro, Climbing)
5. Team USA’s Body Tweaker Is a Busy Guy (Delaney Miller, Climbing)
6. Video: Interview with Percy Bishton – Head Setter for Olympic Bouldering (Niklas Wiechmann, Beta Routesetting)
7. Team USA’s Secret Weapon – Head Coach Josh Larson (Dave Wetmore, Climbing)
8. Video: Natalie Berry’s Prep for Olympic Coverage (Tyler Norton, Plastic Weekly)
9. Tokyo 2020 Sport Climbing on the BBC – Broadcasting an Olympic Debut (Natalie Berry, UK Climbing)
10. Meet Molly Thompson-Smith, the powerful pundit (Alex Messenger, BMC)

OFFICIAL OLYMPIC EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIERS

1. Walls: Entre-Prises (video of wall installation)
2. Auto Belay: Perfect Descent
3. Holds/Volumes: Cheeta – eXpression – flathold – Kilter
4. Video: EVERY Climbing Shoe In The Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 (Beor Ong)
5. New Olympic Climbing Uniforms Released (John Burgman, CBJ)
6. New Climbing Uniforms for Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC)
7. Olympic Outfits – Sport Climbing Style at Tokyo 2020 (Natalie Berry, UK Climbing)
8. This Tracking Software Will Change The Game For Speed Climbers (Delaney Miller, Gym Climber)

Climbing Business Journal

Climbing Business Journal is an independent news outlet dedicated to covering the indoor climbing industry. Here you will find the latest coverage of climbing industry news, gym developments, industry best practices, risk management, climbing competitions, youth coaching and routesetting. Have an article idea? CBJ loves to hear from readers like you!