Today (14 April) marks 100 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where Sport Climbing will make its Olympic debut. Postponed by a year due to the pandemic, the Games will be held with no overseas spectators, reduced media attendance and with a range of COVID-19 protocols in place, in accordance with the latest playbooks. If you're starting to feel the Olympic spirit, check out our UKC Tokyo 2020 athlete profile database and make your own predictions.
© Daniel Gajda/IFSC
Two-time overall Boulder World Cup winner Shauna Coxsey officially joined Team GB last year having earned an Olympic berth in September 2019 at the IFSC World Championships in Hachioji, Japan to become the first ever British athlete in Sport Climbing to compete in the sport's maiden Olympics. She is seeded in third position for the Games, behind Slovenia's Janja Garnbret and Akiyo Noguchi of Japan.
Shauna wrote on Instagram: 'Climbing is actually going to be part of the Olympic Games and I'm gonna be there?! I still don't think I quite believe it but it's 100 days to go! So exciting! What a journey it's been so far. One day it might all sink in.'
At a media event in February 2020, we spoke to Shauna about what it feels like to be heading to the Games. Watch the video clip below:
On 4-7 August 2020, Sport Climbing was due to make its Olympic debut. In a historic move, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in postponement of the event until 3-6 August 2021, resulting in mixed emotions for confirmed athletes. Despite rumours of cancellation in January this year, IOC President Thomas Bach was quick to announce that the IOC is 'fully committed to the successful and safe delivery of Tokyo 2020.' Concerns have been raised in recent weeks as case numbers surge in Japan and in Tokyo in particular. According to recent polls, around 80% of Japanese residents believe the Games should be cancelled or postponed once again. Now with just 100 days to go, organisers are scrambling to host a viable event. Stay tuned for more Olympic content in the run-up to the event.
In our interactive 'sports card' style UKC profiles, you'll find competition stats and action shots alongside bios and analysis written by Natalie Berry, Charlie Boscoe and Eddie Fowke, with some predictions and trivia thrown in for good measure. All 40 athletes have now been selected and confirmed. The climbers can be sorted in our database by seed, Speed PB or Boulder and Lead results to see how they measure up against one another in each discipline.
We hope that this permanent site feature will become a reference point for information on the athletes of the Tokyo Games as well as those competing in Paris 2024 and beyond. UKC's official press accreditation for the Tokyo 2020 Games has rolled over to 2021, and we still hope to attend in some capacity.
With thanks to Paul Phillips for the design, Charlie for his written contributions, Eddie Fowke of The Circuit Climbing for the provision of photos and writing, Tim Leong for sharing the collated data and Tim Hatch for verifying Speed PBs.
The page can otherwise be accessed via the homepage 'News' menu and selecting 'Olympics'.
Comments
Shauna Coxey is sponsored by Aldi :) Does she get free german cheese and stuff? I do wonder if other budget supermarkets are looking on and thinking about entering the climbing market. I could see Alex Megos getting a farmfoods deal for sure.
Somehow, I can imagine Adam Ondra advertising something like Lidl or Farmfoods more than I can see Alex Megos doing it. IMO Adam's overfast talking and enthusiasm somehow seems to fit the budget supermarket zeitgeist.
Isnt it more a case of GB olympic team are sponsored by Aldi and so she is part of the team?
Dunno. Maybe they all get free german cheese and those fancy wagyu burgers every now and again :). Sure beats redbull. Well, apart from the pay cheque probably.
Not Aldi.
Aldiük.
Sounds turkish.
Free turkish cheese ?