What Is Speed Climbing?

Speed Climbing is a race between two climbers to see who gets to the top first. Competitors start at the bottom on the third beep and must hit a buzzer at the top of the wall to stop the timer.

In early qualification rounds climbers aren’t competing against each other but just trying to get the fastest times. The top sixteen climbers then go on to the 1/8 finals and compete head to head in pairs. The winner goes on the 1/4 finals, the winners on to the semi-final (1/2) and then the finals.

The winner in the finals takes Olympic Gold and the loser Silver. The losers of the semi-final compete to determine third and fourth place which is important for the Bronze medal. The most important thing is not to fall or false start as this automatically loses the round.