The point scoring system in Paris, including the two zones in Boulder, proved to be both easy to understand and fair. The best overall Boulder & Lead climbers ultimately secured the medals. The scoring at the Tokyo Olympics involved multiplying the results of the three disciplines, which heavily favoured winning a single discipline over consistently strong performances across all disciplines. It's likely that in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, there will be three separate sets of medals. Here’s how the medalists would have been determined in 2024 using both the Tokyo and LA scoring systems.

Tokyo multiplication scoring if used in Paris
1. Janja Garnbret 3 - Sorato Anraku 5
2. Ai Mori 7 - Adam Ondra 7
3. Brooke Raboutou 10 - Jakob Schubert 10

Los Angeles three sets of medals if used in Paris
Boulder
1. Janja Garnbret - Sorato Anraku
2. Brooke Raboutou - Colin Duffy
3. Oceania Mackenzie - Toby Roberts

Lead
1. Ai Mori - Adam Ondra
2. Jessica Pilz - Jakob Schubert
3. Janja Garnbret - Alberto Gines Lopez

In front of 7000 screaming spectators, Janja Garnbret secured her second Olympic gold and started crying. Before the competition, she had said that the pressure would be lower in Paris, as she had already won in Tokyo, but this was possibly her biggest emotional reaction to winning a competition. Also, runner-up Brooke Raboutou and the bronze medalist Jessica Pilz were crying and the atmosphere in the arena was truly electric. It must be said that the Olympic climbing has been an amazing success throughout the competition with great route setting and scoring system, and also thanks to the loudly cheering spectators.

Sorato Anraku was last out in the Lead final with Toby Roberts sitting in the gold chair. The 17-year-old hesitated a bit also in the 360-rotating campus move facing the spectators. Fighting his way up securing first the bronze and then the silver, he fell three moves below what was needed.

The camera focuses Toby who does not understand what has happened but as his team, including his father, is screaming and jumping he realizes he got the Olympic gold. All the 7,000 spectators were cheering for him and the event was yet another success for competition climbing and IFSC. Noteworthy is also that Adam Ondra was tied for #1 in Lead, together with Jakob Schubert, in possibly his last international competition ever. Schubert got the bronze overall as he also did in Tokyo.

Noé Looser, who last year won the European Youth Lead Championship, has done Erntezeit (8c) in Vorarlberg. The 17-year-old started climbing at age 9 and two years later she did her first 8b followed by an 8c at age 13. "I had much fun and climbing outdoors is good for me to keep my motivation high for the next competitions and the training indoors. It's a route with two boulders and a rest position between these boulders. It was uncomfortable and hard to clip the top."

What is your next plan?
My plan for 2024 is to compete in China at the Youth World Championships in bouldering and lead, the European Youth Championships, and the Swiss Championship in lead.

Piotr Oleszczuk, who two weeks ago flashed two 8B’s in Rocklands, has done Spray of Light (8C). ”My first 8C, still can’t believe it happened. I had to come up with a completely new technical beta for the second part since I struggled with the toe hook switch and releasing the toe with my foot in my face, being almost 190 cm tall. It took me 5 sessions.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
First of all, I'm soo happy to finally achieve a goal I've been working towards for the past year. Over the last two years, I've built a solid pyramid, sending eight 8B+ problems, so topping it off with an 8C feels like a perfect reward :). I'm particularly proud that it took me less than four years to progress from my first 8A to sending my first 8C.

I arrived in Rocklands with a plan to try an 8C boulder, feeling pretty strong despite some finger issues just before the trip. My initial goal was to try Monkey Wedding, which Piotrek Schab sent last year. Unfortunately, I found it particularly difficult because it was very bunchy and small-box oriented, and I'm not exactly the smallest climber o ut there. I gave up on that pretty quickly and decided to focus on Spray, which seemed more suited to my style.

As for the boulder itself, it took me five sessions to complete. I managed to do all the individual moves in the first session, but I had to figure out my own beta for almost every move, as I might be a bit too tall for the original close-toehook switch beta and the final cutloose with a foot in my face. During the next two sessions, I started linking the moves together and completed the whole climb without the first three moves. The third move, involving a very painful finger lock, was especially challenging and left me with open wounds on the tops of my fingers after about ten tries.

Fortunately, everything changed during the fourth session, when I was climbing with Zach and Nathaniel. Having them on the same bloc somehow motivated me to pull harder on the painful crack, which helped me unlock the third move. At that point, I knew the whole boulder was doable and I just had to keep it together and send it with only two climbing days left on the trip.

On the second-to-last day, after two hours of fighting and one fall from a 7A ending, I finally managed to link everything together and send it!

IFSC has published comments from the three medallists: © Drapella/Virt/IFSC


#1 Garnbret: “I was really scared because my finger got stuck in between two holes (of a hold) and I couldn't get it out. So I was scared that I had fractured something, and I already fractured exactly this finger ten years ago. I was scared I did it again, but I had so much adrenaline that I didn't even care. I said to myself, 'I don't care if I'm missing a hand or a finger, I will go out there and climb the route. It doesn't feel broken. I can move it. I will check when I come back to Slovenia, but I think nothing too serious.”

#2 Raboutou: “Being in France, being half French, and having my French family out here, and the support from the crowd, I did feel it.

This was just the dream. We [I and Janja] have an incredible friendship, where we both want each other to do our best. That's what happened today, and it feels really good to share that with somebody. To share that connection as both a friend and an idol is incredible. I look up to her so much, and I'm so grateful for the support she's given me as well.”

#3 Pilz: “I just feel comfortable on the Lead wall. I feel comfortable there and always much more excited. You don't know exactly what's coming. But in the Lead, I knew that if I climbed as easily as I did in the semi and could simply deliver my performance, then I could go far. I'm just happy that it worked out that way.”

IFSC has published comments from the three medallists: © Drapella/Virt/IFSC

#1 Roberts: I've got no words. I'm just riding on adrenaline right now, but I feel incredible. At that point [Anraku climbing] I already knew I had won the silver medal, so I was really happy anyway just watching him. Then to realise that I had just become Olympic champion, I was just: wow, no words."

#2 Anraku: "I'm sad, and I regret that I could not make the best of Boulder & Lead. At the third and fourth Boulder I could not reach the top. In the Lead my feet weren't stable enough, which started in the middle of the route. But I'm still proud of myself."

#3 Schubert: "I am extremely proud that climbing is at the Olympic Games for the second time and that I have my second medal. That's something very special. And at the same time, I have the feeling that the Boulder round frustrated me extremely and there was a lot more possible for me today.

The big goal was gold or silver, and I'm a little bit hesitant about that, but I just can't complain because I know how difficult it is to win an Olympic medal."

The Speed final was a spectacular show with several very tight races. In the bronze final, Sam Watson set a new world record with 4.74. Then in the final, Veddriq Leonardo won over Peng Wu with 0.02 seconds, both setting new personal bests. Previously, Wu had won his quarterfinal with 0.002 seconds.

Jonathan Siegrist, with 79 routes 9a to 9b under his belt, has repeated BJ Tilden’s Pneuma (9a) in The Temple. The 38-year-old is #4 in the Vertical-Life ranking game having done eight routes 9a to 9b during the last year. "Absolutely brilliant route! Strength enduro nightmare on bad holds.. Loved every minute of it." (c) Nate Liles

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The crux comes without any rest before, and you have 6 really hard moves on bad holds, still no rest whatsoever you go directly into another 6 move boulder problem ending with a really fun big move to a jug. Still, a small exit crux guards the chains. I started trying right after climbing its neighbour - The Ritual. I had been thinking of coming to try Pneuma for years and my good friend BJ Tilden opened the route and said it was amazing - he was right! Last year he also did The Ritual so finally with two hard ones I knew it was time to make the trip up North.

Caroline Sinno, with six 8B’s under her belt, has added 32 boulders 8A and beyond to her ticklist which she has sent during the last three years. The 40-year-old did her first 8A in 2012.

How come you sent your first 8A at age 28 and then peaking around 40?
Because I was not into performance climbing when I was younger. I was multi sports, living in the alpes and also skiing. Also, I did long studies where it’s impossible to climb (engineering schools and master in marketing management at ESSEC). I started again after my studies and got hooked.

Which did you send the fastest and which took most sessions? Any long time projects?
I had my best year last year when I could climb sometimes 8A in one session which is very hard in Font. Prince Charles (8B) didn’t take me long, maybe 4/5 sessions. Most sessions spent was maybe Tristesse (assis) (8A+) which is more 8B to me.

My longest projects are two 8B+' that I have been trying a lot; Peak power and La valse intégrale. I also did a FFA of scary high ball, Le désert des Tartares (8A) this year. (c) Psambuy photos

Which was your latest hard send?
My last one was Vilaine biquette (8A+). It’s an endurance boulder with a 7A then 7C then 7B finish. It’s pretty hard and not repeated much. Perfect for the summer. It’s fun because you finish in red number 2 at Rocher canon. A classic hard circuit.

Can you tell us more about Fontainbleu circuits?
Circuits are boulders traced in advance in a Font climbing area. They work by colour and scale like in gyms; Yellow, orange, blue, red, white and black. They are convenient for beginners and warm-ups.

Some circuits are super classic in Font like the red one in Isatis up to 55 numbers traversing the whole area on the best boulders. Cosiroc association is tracing them and repainting them. Everyone can submit a circuit if it’s well done. I would like to trace a circuit for women somewhere. It would be nice to add it. With our difference of morphology, it wouldn’t be the same movements. It could be fun to offer a different vision in setting outside.

Do you have any established circuits you are eager to send?
Yes, the red one in Isatis which is long and sustained also a dream of doing the black of Cuisinière! Finishing in Duel! It would be crazy. Usually, people try to climb them during one day.

The red circuit is a tiring one with 62 boulders. Not super hard but long. The black circuit in Cuisinière is shorter but one of the hardest, 34 boulders but within 7B grade and finishing with Duel 8A.