Cathy Wagner, famous for having done 709 routes 8a and harder since 1994, has done Aromes de Fontanella 8a (+) in Tres Ponts and flashed Andrada 8a in Roc Galliner at 1 500 metres in Spain. Noteworthy is that this was just her fourth 8a flash and the first in seven years for the 53 year old. "Crazy line at the top in a major sector with memorable access! 4 hours round trip and a perfect flash between the two!

Jorg Verhoeven, Lead World Cup winner in 2008 and for many year an athlete spokesmen for IFSC, has posted a critical view on his Insta in regards the Olympic format in Tokyo and Paris. "The single disciplines are slowly crumbling, with many federations choosing to fund/send their 'Olympic climbers', rather than their best climbers. An entire generation of comp climbers is focusing on a discipline that the IFSC has already chosen to abandon." As an example, Gabri Moroni has posted on his Insta that the Italian federation has decided to not cover any costs what so ever for the guys not focusing on all three disciplines. The Paris Olympic news looked good for the development of Sport Climbing but on the other hand, from the athletes point of view it is rather strange. From May 2020, there will only be 20 male and 20 female who will train all three disciplines in the world. Once the Olympic Games is over in August 2020 and the medals have been handed out, there will never in the future be climbers who will focus on competing all three disciplines.

Giuliano Cameroni, who previously has done seven 8C's, has sent his first 8C+ by the FA of Poison the Well in Brione. In the ranking game, the 21 year old Swiss is #3 after Woods and Webb. "The boulder is a 40 degree overhanging wall. There aren’t many trickeries, only think you need is power and finger strength. There are seven moves, but the crux involves around the 5th and the 6th move, which could be considered 8C itself. It’s been a know project for more than ten years now, it’s the logical direct version to the classic Pamplemousse (8A). It took me 8 days during a month and a half. The key was resting the specific muscles and waiting for the good conditions. Since you have to be super accurate, you also need a bit of luck to stick the crux hold perfectly. But the stronger you are and the easier it is to be precise, so after 8 days everything felt a little better."

The last chance to qualify to the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 are the five Continental Championships during April and May 2020. This should also, especially among the male, be the best chances for the Speed specialist to qualify. As there is a cap of two per country, in the 2019 Asian Championships with all the super strong male guys from Japan, you might qualify being #10. On the other hand, any Speed specialist qualifying to the Top-8 will mathematically be at worst #5 overall but most probably #4 just by finishing 1 - 8 - 8. Then the Speed specialist just have to hope the 3-4 guys in front did already get their ticket in 2019. To sum up, chances are great that at least one Speed specialist per gender will make it to Tokyo. If not there is the Tripartite commission for one selected male and female who did not qualify through results.

IFSC reports that in the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 there will be a separate set of medals for Speed as well as for a Lead/Boulder Combination. In Speed there will be 16 athletes and in the Combination 20 athletes per gender. In Tokyo, only 40 athletes will participate for six medals so it is great news for the climbing community. It should be noted that this decision that was announced in a press conference in Paris which is not final. "The proposal will next be presented to the IOC Executive Board on March 26th-28th. If accepted, the proposal will then be put forward to the 134th IOC Session on 24th June in Lausanne, Switzerland. "

Keenan Takahashi won the Hueco Rock Rodeo by doing Diabolique 8B and five 8A+'s during one day. Four of the boulders he did first try. (c) "Super stoked to have had what may be my best climbing day and to have nabbed gold after such a big day with a bunch of friends, new and old. Cheers to the americanalpine for hosting such a rad event and to Westmountainmedia for the pics", Keenan reported on his Insta.

Based on that Speed respective Lead/Boulder will be included in the Olympic Games 2024, we can almost certain say that even if no Speed specialists will qualify to Tokyo, the tripartite selection will go to a Speed specialist. Mathematically, based on the results in the Olympic Youth Games in Buenos Aires, getting 1 - 20 - 20 will mean qualifying to the Top-8 final in Tokyo. In that final, 1 - 8 - 8 will most probably mean ranking fourth or possibly fifth. In theory, such a result could also mean getting the bronze. The reason for this is that instead of adding the results, they are multiplied. This means that it is not so important to have a good result in all three disciplines but instead it is best to win one discipline. If adding the results in all three disciplines was the rule, the Speed specialist would most probably be ranked #12-14 in Tokyo.

Edu Main comes with great news on Insta. "A process of four months for climb in free all the pitch’s of Valhalla. To be honest I've been tempted to give up sometimes. Endurance, discipline, perseverance and lots of motivation to release every single pitch! I've build a sentence that I repeat myself every day when putting on my climbing shoes: "limits are thoughts feeding on our fear of failing". I know Valhalla is madness and that it became my biggest obsession."

Kyparissi, located some four hour respective one hour south of Athens and Leonidio, is #1 in the 8a Crag trend ranking. In between 10-12 May they will run their second Festival, more info. Aris T, aka Mr Kalymnos, has started to open a new sector just by an amazing beach which he says has one of the most beautiful settings he has ever seen and the potential in a gorge is almost endless. He will bring a team to continue they work in the end of April and he hopes that this new sector will be opened with 100 new routes during the festival.

Moritz Welt, #4 in the Combined ranking, has had a super productive last month doing 14 boulders 8A to 8B+. Last year he also had a nice pyramid in routes starting with two 9a's. (c) Lars Decker - Kalokagathia 8B. How do you have time for all these sends and what about the 2019 plan and ambition? I am living in the middle of Frankenjura. I'm taking my time after school and at the weekends. As long as the weather is good I never go training indoors so I can go bouldering outdoors all the time. Maybe some traveling around Europe and seeing different places. Of course also trying some hard routes/boulders as well as some FAs. Routes and boulders, I think I will continue to do both equally so I won't get out of shape in any of them. What about trying to project down 8C and 9a+' instead of scooping around in easier terrain? I have no explicit focus. Just climbing without expectations.