Finally got a chance to watch some damn climbing at these Games. What a final that was
I always knew sport climbing would provide some intrigue and entertainment, but that was an amazing Olympic debut for the sport.
I would rate the combined format as “okay.” It’s not the ugly, evil demon that a lot of the climbing community makes it out to be, but it’s also not not the best format for sport climbing. In my opinion, too much of the results comes down to the efforts of others. It takes away from individual performances. Like most people within the climbing community, I’d prefer to see the disciplines separated.
I was pulling for Duffy having watched him qualify for the Olympics in person. Unfortunately, the false start in speed cost him dearly. This format actually allowed for very few mistakes at all. Ondra ultimately lost the competition on that dyno move at Boulder 2 for instance. Coleman winning the Boulder phase was a huge surprise. He had shown good form on the World Cup circuit this year though, so it was nice to see his efforts rewarded. Likewise, Gines Lopez winning the final was quite a shock as well. I never saw him winning speed, but to his credit, he took the opportunity when it came. I figured once he won speed he’d win the competition though, as he is a lead specialist. I was actually a bit surprised by his performance there, but he did enough to win and that’s what counts. I think Mawem deserves a shoutout as well for his terrific performance on Speed and Boulder. Unfortunately, that 7th in lead and the way the combined format is scored left him without a medal.
Interesting, the three winners of the individual disciplines (Gines Lopez , Coleman , Schubert ) were also the three medalists at the end of the day. You can see how the multiplication method of scoring affects the eventual outcome in the combined event.