That’s why sport climbing is the most Olympic sport there is

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At a meeting of the first Olympic Congress in 1894, Henri Didon said these words: ‘Faster, higher, stronger’, which means faster, higher and stronger. And that is exactly what sport climbing is at the Olympics. In the battle for a medal, athletes must practice three elements of the sport of climbing: speed, rock to lead.

This is what the Olympic match looks like

Participants start with speed where it’s all about speed: which climber is the first at the top of the fifteen-meter-high wall. And it goes very quickly. The world record is just over five seconds and it looks like this.

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Then follows rock. Climbers attempt to climb short but difficult routes over 4.5 meter walls. It is mainly about strength and coating with as many lanes as possible on the wall.

Bee lead the objective is to climb as high as possible on the marked course on a wall about fifteen meters high. The higher you go, the higher your score.

The eight athletic climbers who achieve the best scores on average will qualify for the final day. There they compete for a medal in the same three disciplines. Sport climbing is scheduled for the Olympic Games from August 3-6.

“It’s a really great sport,” said Andries Minderhoud de Waarde. “It was also time for this kind of sport to gain attention.” If possible, Minderhoud clings to the climbing wall or is in the Ardennes or the Alps to climb. “Now that it’s Olympic, sport climbing will gain in status and that’s good for the growth of the sport.”

Advance in the Netherlands, Zeeland is lagging behind

In the Netherlands, sport has been on the rise for several years. Especially the part rock is popular. But Zeeland is lagging behind. The only option to climb is in the Open in Goes. “This wall is mainly used by the CIOS students who are taught here.” According to Minderhoud, there are more recreational climbers in Zeeland than true competitive climbers. “I’m more of an instructor and I teach people how to climb safely. It’s high and you have to be secured with a fuse. The higher you climb, the interior is still limited and manageable, the more complicated the details get. . “

It looks very fluid, but very few people can do it. “

The Olympics showcase the best climbers in the world and the level of competition is so high that not everyone can handle these routes. “It is unimaginable how difficult and specialized this escalation you will see there,” says Minderhoud. “It looks very smooth, but very few people can do it.”

“Rock climbing is something you do with your whole body and I really like it,” says Minderhoud. “I have to admit I’m more of an outdoors person. When I climb outdoors, it’s complete: the environment and the atmosphere. I hope sport climbing at the Olympics will also lead to more climbers in outdoors.”

There are plans for a bouldering room in Zeeland. Dennis Marijnissen, the initiator, hopes that bouldering will also be possible in this province in February 2022. “We receive messages daily from Zeeland climbers who have to drive for 45 minutes to an hour in order to be able to boulder,” says Marijnissen.

The bouldering room plans are almost complete on paper. “We still have to make the decision of a building, of the three options we have one that we strongly prefer”, explains Marijnissen. “Now it is mainly a matter of finalizing the financing and the investment so that we can start the construction.”

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