However, with an additional gold medal on offer for the Paris Games, there is renewed optimism within the climbing community. In Tokyo, both male and female competitors faced a single event that combined three distinct climbing disciplines: bouldering, lead, and speed. 

This format required athletes to train for disciplines they were not previously accustomed to. "It was a bit strange because we were given only one medal and so decided to combine the three disciplines together, which was a bit complicated," explained Marco Scolaris, president of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). 

"The speed climber had to train for boulder and lead, and vice-versa, and these disciplines are very different from one another. They did not feel comfortable with the process and the reaction (from climbers) was quite violent." Despite these challenges, the sport's debut in Tokyo was a visual and competitive success, leading to its growing popularity globally. This success has led the IFSC to offer a second medal in Paris, allowing for the speed climbing competition to be separated from bouldering and lead.

The decision to split the disciplines is already yielding exciting results in the speed category. In April, American climber Sam Watson set a new world record twice within an hour, reducing the time to scale the 15-metre wall from 4.90 seconds to 4.85 and then to an impressive 4.79 seconds. Watson, 18, is also an avid chess player and finds parallels between the two activities. "You can analyse every single move, it’s so incredibly nuanced and I like the idea that you can never be perfect at it," he told Olympics.com.

Joining Watson, is Jakob Schubert of Austria, who won the Climbing World Championships gold in August 2023, and he will go up against France’s Oriane Bertone and Britain’s Toby Roberts, who also booked their place in the French capital.

As sport climbing gears up for Paris, the issue of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) is an ongoing concern. RED-S arises when athletes dangerously limit their calorie intake to shed weight, which can lead to severe health issues. Recognising the advantage of being lighter in climbing, the IFSC has implemented measures to monitor competitors' health at the national federation level and conduct random testing at international competitions.

With many sport climbers in their teens, the IFSC is committed to ensuring the health and well-being of these young athletes. "When you are 17 or 18 years old, you don’t have the maturity to evaluate what can happen in the future," Scolaris emphasises. "You must have the right people around you that eradicate the culture of winning at any cost, because the cost to your health is high."

As sport climbing prepares for its second Olympic appearance, the community looks forward to showcasing its best athletes in a format that respects the unique challenges of each discipline. With the lessons learned from Tokyo and the changes implemented for Paris, the future of sport climbing looks promising as it reaches for new heights on the world stage.