Iker Pou has done the FA of Great Guggenheim 9a+ in Mallorca, which is the island's second 9a+ after his Big Men FA in 2015. (c) Juan A. Balaguer Santiago

"The last year I bolted and I redpoint the first pitch to the half of the cave "Guggenheim" 9a. This year I added the second pitch to the top, which is about 8b+. Not so hard but you arrive destroyed from the first part and it is hard to link everything, especially for the head. The route is very steep and with about 110 moves it is challenging the endurance after the first hard 9a pitch."

Iker has been making headlines since 2000 when he did Action Directe 9a. In total, the 44-year-old has done some 30 routes 9a to 9b (+), and as a matter of a fact his most productive years have been since 2015. Also setting up several big walls around the globe, Iker has been one of the world's very best rock climbers for the last 20 years.

How do you train to continue being in peak performance?
Jejeje, I don't know! I think that it is motivation. I love climbing outdoors. I like to always push me to the fullest. Vert little indoor training. I directly get in shape by climbing as much as I can on rock.

Killian Chabrier, who three weeks ago did his second and third ever 8B+, Kheops assis and Gecko assis, has done The Big Island 8C (B+) in Fontainebleau. Video on his Insta

"It took me about 15 sessions over one year, with big breaks caused by injuries like a small tearing on a biceps and the two lockdowns we had in France! It was very difficult for me to do il because of my small arms! In the beginning of February after 4 months without trying it. I found all the sensations really quick. The moves which looked impossible before felt not so hard and then it took me two more sessions to send it! For the grade, I say soft 8C but some of the last people who sent it think more for hard 8B+ hard. I prefer to try more 8C's to have a better opinion on it!"

Matt Fultz has done his 14th 8C, The Nest in First Creek Canyon. "One of the best! The video of @dawoods89 and @jwebxl on the FA is one of my all time faves. It took about a week from when I first tried it to when I sent it." The 29-year-old did his first 8C less than two years ago and has during that period moved from being #15 to #1 in the 8A ranking game. (c) Max Krimmer

It was put up by Daniel Woods in 2015. "Kenny Barker and Andy Raether prepped this line and got us amped to go check it out. They were not lying when they said this boulder was out of this world. It hosts some of the raddest lines and each one is unique in its own way. This one ascends a 25-foot face with slanting rails to start with, into an iron cross in the middle of the wall followed by the crux at the finish. It was awesome to get buck on this rig with Jimmy." He got the second ascent the day after commenting. "One of the most amazing lines you'll ever see." All five repeaters on 8A have given it five stars.

Andy "Peter" Lamb comments on his second 8C, "I had a lot of sessions where I'd do the crux section first or second try, but fall there every time from the bottom, and the climb started to get in my head. On my send go I had some microbeta changes on the bottom which I think helped me get to the stand a little bit fresher. Definitely one of the most memorable climbs I've ever done!"

From the 8a interview two weeks ago. "I lost 50’percent of the strength in my right arm about 6 months ago and tried P.T. etc but nothing helped because the nerve was impinged by the herniated disc. So they do they had to take 2 discs out in my neck and replace them with fake ones. It happened from so many years of falling from bouldering. This is something that I think we will start to see more of in the future with more people bouldering."

Jorge Diaz-Rullo reports on Insta that he has done La Rambla 9a+ in . "How happy to do this historic route. And also to get it faster than I expected (8 tries) chaining the first real try where I was going to the death but with very good methods and conditions! Thanks people!" (c) Javi Pec, who says he first met Jorge six years ago, "An unknown young climber, 15 years old, travelling by bus to the crags, sleeping under the routes... full of motivation."

At age 21, Jorge has done five 9b's and twelve 9a+ and he is #1 in the 8a ranking game just ahead of Adam Ondra. In bouldering, he is #8 including having done five 8C's. Here is a short 8a interview from last month.

In an emergency situation, you could jump from up to 25 meters into a giant airbag, roll over and walk back home. Such airbags are also increasingly found in ski slopes, gymnastic halls and climbing gyms. As a matter of a fact, already in 2015 8a reported on a climbing comp in Austria where participants would fall from 12 meters into an enormous airbag. Since then, many smaller airbags have been developed where an experienced boulderer could land from up to ten meters. The size of the Air Pit by BagJump, in the picture, is 5 * 3 * 1 meters. The dilemma is, nevertheless, that it weighs 60 kg, you need a power station, and the costs start at Euro 3 800. On the good side, it just takes some minutes to inflate and unpack them. Video from a climbing gym with an airbag.

A possible future is that some gyms could rent them out for events or even to climbers who want to set a personal best. If this turns out successful, smaller ones may be developed and it may become quite common to rent them for a day and bring them to your project. 8a asked Andi Winter about possibilities for making them smaller and about the future:

"It is certainly possible to make even smaller airbags. We can customize them completely to the need of the client. A bag that small could definitely be done and after the right amount of testing, we’d be more than comfortable to promote that as well. We’re always willing to work with athletes to work on future developments. They know best what they can do and try the things that need to be done for the product to fit their needs. Maybe we should organize an outdoor boulder session with a small bag together?

A small bag of course can’t match a bigger one in terms of softness. A boulderer that uses a crashpad, however, will be more than comfortable to switch to a bag. It most certainly reduces the risk of injury! The question is, how does it react to a fall. That’s what we’d like to test. Like you said, in the short run and now already, our airbags are a great addition to climbing facilities of any kind, and for the future, we will be working on more solutions to make airbags a part of outdoor climbing and bouldering as well."

Simon Lorenzi just made the FA of Soudain Seul, aka The Big Island assis, 9A, in Fontainbleau after some 25 sessions. In the end, the Belgian had to come up with two innovations to ascend this boulder. First, he removed the heel hook rubber and put it on his stiffer shoes. Second, by taping a pocketbook onto his knee under his kneepad, this 168 cm tall guy increased the length of his leg in order to get full use of a kneebar.

Customizing shoes by carving out ridges for better heal hooking, or by adding rubber for better toe hooking, have been practiced before. There are also shoes on the market with small rubber heal hook hooks/ridges. The use of double or even triple kneepads has also occurred, but Lorenzi is possibly the first to use a book under his kneepad.

There have been comments that this practice should be called aid climbing. However, it seems like people are mostly impressed by the innovation. Apart from the 8a Practice and Ethics from 2002, there few written ethical rules in climbing - instead, the word is spread around. Over time, ethics have also changed - chalk, pre-placed quick draws and kneepads are examples of innovations that were condemned in the beginning. Even in competition climbing, there are few rules and nothing says you cannot squeeze a book under your kneepad if it helps you. The latest news in comps is that some athletes bring in a fan, which by the way Lorenzi also used.

The 8a ethics use the traffic light system, providing examples of "yellow flag" behaviours, which anyhow make the ascents legitimate. We do not think you can draw an exact line for what is ok or not, but by giving examples of "grey areas" we hope climbers will regulate themself. At the same time, whenever climbers are using some greyish tricks, it is essential that you come clean, for example by openly stating that "I had three carabiners pre-clipped". Other climbers can then be credited for doing it in a better style.

Lorenzi should be applauded for his honesty and for sharing his extended leg tricks. Being honest is the way forward, especially for top climbers, and he should be credited for having done the FA of Soudain Seul. In my book, I nevertheless give him a yellow card. I mean, if you start building up big hooks on your knees which could be used on underclings on kneebars, I would personally think it is not a valid ascent. I have discussed this with several climbers and many top climbers agree that Lorenzi's 9A is ok but that we should not push this technique further.

Paul Robinson: "I think it is OK. I mean there is plastic inside of climbing shoes to make it stiffer so why can't you put that on a knee pad. Seems like the same to me."

I have also been discussing it with Lorenzi who comes with the great news that there is a video coming out revealing all his tricks. "For me I think it's something smart and it doesn't change the use that you can do with it. If you change completely the form and you can grab something with it, is not the same game. It is like dry-tooling in this case. I used a spray that physiotherapists use for the taping on my leg. The book wasn't really thick, like 3 cm. I tried with a bigger one and it was unstable."

Colin Duffy, youth world champion twice, qualified to Tokyo last spring by winning Pan American. This was the first international IFSC senior competition by this 167 cm tall 16-year-old. "I didn't really have my eyes on the Olympics until the start of 2020."

How is your Olympic preparation going?
I am climbing 4-5 days a week, making sure to train each discipline during the week. I typically speed climb once a week and train endurance and comp style boulders the rest of the time. Along with climbing, I am working with a physical trainer to improve general strength and doing mobility work for flexibility.

What is your goal in Tokyo?
My Olympic dream would be to create memories I will remember forever and climb to the absolute best of my ability.

What are your Speed record, training and goal?
My official speed PB is 6.92 seconds. My speed goal for the Olympics would be to be in 6.6-6.7 range. To train for speed I like to do different drills such as working different sections of the route. These drills help me work on minor details. I also like to train leg power by doing exercises like box jumps and squats.

How has Covid-19 affected your training?
As of now Covid-19 doesn't have too much of an impact on my training, however, it affected me when the pandemic first started. When Covid was first spreading in the first few months of 2020, the gyms were closed and I was forced to train on my home wall. To adapt, I set different climbs on my wall and worked on physical training as well. Thankfully, I have full access to climbing gyms now and my training isn't affected. I have adapted to climbing in a mask though haha.

Who are your training partners and what do they mean to you?
Normally I train with my climbing team during the week so I don't really have any set training partners. I have been training a bit with Brooke Raboutou though who is a friend and fellow Olympian for Team USA. My training partners are very important to me as they help push and motivate me to be better!

Interview of his background from when he qualified to the Olympics winning the Pan American last spring. "I started climbing when I found the sport at a local recreation center around 4 years old. I fell in love with the challenge of the wall and would beg my parents to let me do it again. From there I practiced the sport periodically until I started taking it seriously at age 8. I'd say my coach Robyn Raboutou has meant the most for my career. When I started on team ABC in 2012, she has always believed in me and motivated me to try harder and perform better."