Climbers scale the walls at Badlands Training Centre

By Teagan Rasche

TOYKO 2020

Sport climbing Olympic debut a ‘game changer’ for local athletes

Jun 30, 2021 | 6:04 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – One of the five new sports in the Olympics this summer has been around since before the first games back in Athens.

Sport climbing dates back to the mid-1800s and is a sport that requires strength, speed, endurance and a bit of fearlessness.

“At first it’s a bit scary, and over time you kinda get used to it and you quite like the feeling,” said 11-year-old climber Noah Weins.

He’s the youngest lead climber on rockwall and he’s learning the ropes from two climbers who’ve scaled mountains around the world.

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One of those climbers, Ian Griffiths says the only limit in the sport is your own mindset.

“You hear a lot of people saying this is as far as I can go, well really it’s not as far as you can go cause it’s only your mind telling you that’s as far as you can go,” Griffiths said.

In just a few short weeks, athletes will be able to go even further when sport climbing is included in the Olympic Games

The debut is inspiring athletes worldwide and even those in Medicine Hat. As athletes pursue the podium, the expectation is to be well rounded

“You’ve got speed climbing, the lead climbing event and then the bouldering event as well,” Griffiths said. “The competitors have to do all three, they can’t just compete in one because it’s an overall score.”

The three types of climbing challenge all different body systems and athletes must be skilled in them all including

“Strength, endurance, flexibility, mobility,” said experienced climber Jean Paul Cloutier.

Cloutier has been climbing for over a decade. He says it’s a big step forward being included this year.

“It’s a very different sport, so to see athletes performing at that level demonstrating their capabilities at the Olympics, it’s going to be a game-changer,” Cloutier said.

Athletes will be going head to head in Tokyo competing on the hardest routes. The perfect stage to keep pushing the sport forward as it gains popularity.

For young athletes like Noah, seeing his idols at the games is the perfect motivation.

“I’m really excited to see,” Noah said. “I really wanna watch the Canadian climbers. I’m excited to see the bouldering and lead. I’m really looking forward to that, I think it will be a blast.”

The two Canadian Olympic climbers are Alannah Yip and Sean McColl.

Noah is still young in the sport giving him years for development. For now, he only has one focus.

“Just get better.”