Olympic climbing turns the suspense of watching Tom Cruise hanging off the side of a building into a sport requiring stunning physical—and mental—flexibility.
Worth a shout out to the incredible sportsmanship shown by climbers, as seen once again in Paris by Brooke and others reacting to Janja’s gold in Paris. Just wonderful stuff
Attended the World Games bouldering competition in BHM 2 summers back after watching some of the Tokyo climbing. Feel like TV/photos somehow don't do justice to how much surreal strength and grip it requires to stay attached to the wall in some of the positions they stay attached in. These people are mutants.
Also, Rodge, you know this already, but if you ever have a chance to attend a World Games, you must. Korfball is calling
oh I REALLY missed my opportunity to see the World Games when they were in Alabama. the odds of me getting to Chengdu, China for the 2025 edition is significantly lower...
and yeah I don't think I'm doing it justice either. watching someone crawl up a wall upside-down hanging by their fingers...
Wait so you're telling me that someone can train their whole lives, qualify for the Olympics, and get eliminated in a single-elimination match that lasts all of 5 seconds?
Also, that Watson guy is definitely Spider-Man, right?
Worth a shout out to the incredible sportsmanship shown by climbers, as seen once again in Paris by Brooke and others reacting to Janja’s gold in Paris. Just wonderful stuff
Free idea for you, Roge. Flip "Rings Roge" to "Faster. Higher. Roger."
You're welcome. And btw, longtime reader from the wayback Ringer days.
Attended the World Games bouldering competition in BHM 2 summers back after watching some of the Tokyo climbing. Feel like TV/photos somehow don't do justice to how much surreal strength and grip it requires to stay attached to the wall in some of the positions they stay attached in. These people are mutants.
Also, Rodge, you know this already, but if you ever have a chance to attend a World Games, you must. Korfball is calling
oh I REALLY missed my opportunity to see the World Games when they were in Alabama. the odds of me getting to Chengdu, China for the 2025 edition is significantly lower...
and yeah I don't think I'm doing it justice either. watching someone crawl up a wall upside-down hanging by their fingers...
Wait so you're telling me that someone can train their whole lives, qualify for the Olympics, and get eliminated in a single-elimination match that lasts all of 5 seconds?
Also, that Watson guy is definitely Spider-Man, right?
Long answer: they do a qualification round first, so everybody gets two runs. Then the top people in that round go into a single-elimination bracket.
Short answer: yes. Although they’re probably taking, like, 5.5-6 seconds if they’re getting eliminated, if that’s any consolation