Sport Climbing at the Olympics, Meeting Your Idol, and Janja Garnbret Unfiltered

Welcome to Behind The Wall, a weekly newsletter (usually) published every Saturday. This week, I’m a day late after watching the Boulder & Lead finals over the last two days, and I was travelling back late yesterday.

Each week, I highlight the favourite things I’ve watched, read and listened to from the world of indoor and competition climbing. I also keep track of what climbing competitions are coming up and where you can buy tickets.

The Olympics is over. It was as exciting as it was exhausting. So much media was released over the past week that I haven’t got to most of it while covering the event, so there will be many more Olympic links next week. If you are interested in a separate round-up of Olympic-related content, let me know!

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Watch

Last Session Before the Olympics | Erin McNiece. Olympian Erin McNiece talks through her last session before the Olympics.
Parkour Pro and Climber Vs Insane Boulder (with Toby Segar) | Catalyst Climbing. Louis and Toby try one of the longest boulders ever.
Meeting my idol Japan’s 2x Olympic Climber Tomoa Narasaki | Jonathan Sin. Jonathan Sin has a climbing session with Tomoa Narasaki in his home bouldering gym.
IFSC Route setter Sergio Verdasco - Career & setting interview at Studio Bloc Masters 2024 | Climbholds. IFSC and Olympic Routesetter Sergio Verdasco talks about his career and setting a block at Studio Bloc Masters.
The Janja Garnbret Unfiltered 3-episode series for Adidas TERREX concluded by focusing on her mindset ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics and her views on mental health, body image and insecurities.

Read

An Olympic Conversation with Brooke Raboutou | IFSC. Richard Aspland (IFSC) talks with Brooke Raboutou about how she has grown on her winding path to Paris.
Catch up on the Olympics and read what the athletes said from UKClimbing’s editor Natalie Berry, one of the few climbing journalists with media accreditation in Paris.

Listen

Another Setting Podcast Olympic Coverage. Deep dive into the boulder setting on days 1 & 2 at the Olympics and the setting of the Male B&L Final.
Natalia Grossman (Olympian) — Her Breakout Success and Overcoming Mental & Physical Hurdles | The Nugget Climbing Podcast. Interview with Olympian Natalia Grossman from April about dealing with the pressure of competition climbing.

International Climbing Competition Tickets

The Olympics may be over, but there are plenty of climbing competitions left this year to follow. Here is a rundown of climbing competitions to watch out for the rest of the year.