Welcome to Behind The Wall, a weekly newsletter published every Saturday.
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.
Another week has gone by, and we have more Olympics reflections, including from athletes Tomoa Narasaki and Alex Megos, as well as routesetter Sergio Verdasco. We also got to see the release of a “Drive to Survive” style docuseries focused on Olympic qualification in 2023. The first two episodes have already dropped, and the next 2 are out on August 26th.
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Watch
- The first two parts of a 4-part docuseries, “The Crux” has been released on National Geographic, directed by Think Less and executively produced by Academy Award© winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for Little Monsters Films. The series follows athletes through the Olympic qualification process in 2023. The first two episodes focus on the female and male athletes competing at the 2023 Bern World Championship, including Alannah Yip, Janja Garnbret, Oriane Bertone, Jenya Kazbekova, Jakob Schubert, Mejdi Schalck and Toby Roberts. The second two will focus on the Olympic continental qualifier events. Episodes 3 and 4 are going to be published on Monday, August 26th.
- Return to Japan - Paris 2024 Olympics | TAMY YouTube Channel. Tomoa Narasaki shares his reflections on his experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Olympia, and here we are again! | Alexander Megos. Alex Megos talks to Christoph Hanke about his experience at the Olympics in a new podcast format.
- What happened in the Men’s Lead semi-finals? Video analysis time | ROAP Coaching. Robin O’Leary from ROAP coaching digs into why some of the male athletes fell low on the male Lead semi-final route and others didn’t.
- 10 Sessions at 10 Different gyms in 1 day?! | Richardsons Climbing. Zach and Madison Richardson celebrate 10K subscribers by climbing at 10 gyms around Montreal in 1 day.
- Guide to Board Climbing: What Every Climber Should Know | Hannah Morris Bouldering. Hannah and Nathan break down board climbing, covering how to get started and how to use an adjustable Tension 2 board to progress at different levels.
- I got humiliated by the Olympic Champion Toby Roberts | Magnus Midtbø. Magnus tries some comp-style boulders on the EP Olympic Titan Wall at Parthian London with Olympic Gold medalist Toby Roberts (from before the Olympics)
Listen
- IFSC setter Sergio Verdasco | Another Setting Podcast. Olympic Boulder routesetter Sergio Verdasco answers Niki and Jake’s questions about setting at the Olympics and how it compares to setting in World Cups.
- Alex Goes To Paris: Olympic Recap | Climbing Gold. Alex Honnold, Fitz Cahall, John Burgman and Leici Hendrix discuss how they felt about the Olympics.
- Paris 2024 Olympics — Professional Climber and Coach Tim Kang on The Results, The Routesetting, The Grades, and The Future of Competitions | Testpiece Climbing Podcast. For a different perspective on the Olympics, listen to Tim and Josh talk about how they feel about the athletes’ performances, what climbing skills they think routesetting should test and weight, and their views on the future of competition climbing.
- Madison Richardson, Canadian Boulderer | That’s Not Real Climbing Podcast. Jinni talks with Madison Richardson about being a Canadian competition climber, dealing with funding, and getting married young to a fellow competitive climber.
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.
- Paraclimbing European Championship in Villars (Switzerland) August 24 – 25. The event will be free to attend and tickets are not needed.
- European Championship in Villars (Switzerland) August 27 – September 1. The event will be free to attend and tickets are not needed.
- Koper (Slovenia) September 6 – 7. Tickets for the semi-final and final will be available for pre-sale from July 8th – August 24th at the Koper 2024 World Cup site.
- Prague (Czechia) World Cup September 20 – 22. VIP tickets are sold out, and seated tickets are almost sold out, but standing tickets are still available.
- Paraclimbing World Cup in Arco (Italy) September 27 – 28. The event will be free to attend and tickets are not needed.
- Seoul World Cup October 2 – 6. Tickets are yet to be announced
- Asian Continental Championship in Tai’an (China) October 10 – 14. Tickets are yet to be announced.
- IFSC Madrid 4 Speed (Spain) October 18 – 20. Tickets are yet to be announced.
- Pan American Championship in Santiago (Chile) November 18 – 24. Tickets are yet to be announced.
That’s a Wrap
I hope you enjoyed this edition of Behind the Wall. Let me know what you think at behindthewall@insideclimbing.com or DM me on Instagram.
See you next week!
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