Introduction

Mickaël Mawem (FRA) Age: 30

The younger of the ‘frères Mawem’ – the Mawem Brothers – dynamic duo, Mickaël Mawem applied his explosive power and movement skills to bouldering while his older brother Bassa focused on Speed. That’s not to say that Mickaël is slow off the mark, though: his Speed Personal Best of 6.250 seconds is faster than most non-Speed specialists and he achieved a best-ever rank of 21^st in a Speed World Cup in 2019.

Although Mawem hasn’t won any World Cup medals, his consistency in achieving top-30 results across Boulder and Speed put him in a strong position for earning a Tokyo 2020 quota place. In 2019 he reached his peak, finishing 7^th in the Hachioji Combined World Championships and with it a ticket to Tokyo. Mawem continued this run of form and confidence by winning the IFSC European Championships (Boulder) in Zakopane, Poland the following month. Mawem is especially adept at parkour-like, run-and-jump co-ordination movements, which are bound to be in the routesetters’ playbook in Tokyo.

Qualification route

Hachioji World Championships: 7^th place

Making the Combined Final ensured Mawem’s quota place no matter his result – at the earliest possible qualification opportunity. A 4^th in Speed, 4^th in Boulder and a 7^th place in Lead in the final proved his capabilities in the first two disciplines and confirmed his weakness in Lead. There’s work to do in this event for Mawem, and if he can improve his endurance it will make him a more well-rounded climber and a possible contender for a top-10 finish. 

Trivia

Mickaël and his older brother Bassa (34) will be the only sibling pair in the Tokyo 2020 Sport Climbing event, occupying the two men’s quota places for France.

UKC prediction

With an edge over many of his competitors in Speed and his skillset in Boulder, we estimate that Mawem will finish in the top 15, but fall short of the top 10.