The star of these 2024 Olympic Games will not be the swimmer Léon Marchand, nor the American sprinter Noah Lyles, nor even the judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou in the quest for more and more gold. This summer in Paris, spectators from around the world will only have their eyes on climbing. The postulate may seem a bit daring, nevertheless, the triple test has a nice head of ” show stealer “. The event that we weren’t expecting as much and which steals the show from everyone.
Richard Wawrzyniak, former sports journalist and author of History(s) of the Olympic Games (2021, Maureuil Editions), is quite knowledgeable about the Olympics, and his flair is formal. “Climbing clearly has a future at the Olympic Games, as it ticks all the boxes. » Understand to be at the same time “spectacular, fast, aesthetic, that even neophytes can follow and understand the issues, bodies in movement” and, within the framework of the speed test, “a visible duel: the competitors face each other at the same time and we can see in real time who is the winner. » Characteristics in common with the main events of athletics or swimming.
“There is bound to be an event that you will like”
Proof of its Olympic compatibility, the event was the most “Googled” during Tokyo 2020, where it made its first Olympic appearance. Additional bonus three years later, France is moving forward with real chances of medals on its soil. Guillaume Vallet, professor of sports economics, recognizes it: there is nothing like a local victory to anchor a sport in the legend of the Games. Same analysis for Richard Wawrzyniak: “Judo, very popular and inseparable from the Games from now on, only made its appearance at Tokyo 1964”, where Japan took three titles out of four, “a good way to solidify the event. »
Exactly, room for a potential future medal this summer. Oriane Bertone, French champion and vice-world bouldering champion at 20, who defends her piece of fat: “Aesthetically, it’s a very beautiful sport, very pleasant to watch. Very varied too. There are three types of events – bouldering, speed and difficulty, with eight climbers per discipline. There is bound to be an event that you will like, and an athlete with whom you identify. »
A success independently of the Games
Guillaume Vallet tempers the general excitement a little: “We have seen short-term hype at the Olympics, like bobsleigh, iconic in 1998 and which has lost its interest since. » Once at the summit, will the climber be able to stay there?
Oriane Bertone wants to believe it. Because even when we have the potential to win gold, we know, there are more than just the Games in life: “I can see that there is an increase in popularity of this sport, even before Paris 2024. In the climbing gyms, I am recognized more and more, I am asked for photos, sponsors are more present…” This is perhaps what ensures the status of “show stealer” for climbing this summer. The sport is already booming, and here it is finally finding a setting that suits it.
“No effect” after Tokyo in climbing gyms
“The Games can open certain doors, but it’s once every 4 years. What guarantees the long-term success of climbing is that it is a friendly and good-spirited sport, continues the young champion. You have a session with your friends, you have fun, you go for a beer afterwards. Even at the high level, I find fun and a playful side in it. It’s not swimming. »
Maria Fuentes, communications director of Arkose, does not believe in “an Olympics effect” either. In 2021, there was none after Tokyo, certainly in a very particular context of Covid-19. In 2024, “we do not expect a tidal wave after Paris”, but we are counting on natural growth. In the first half of the year, count 26% of new registrations compared to 2023, + 18% in passage and + 14% in turnover. “What mainly works is not elite sporting competitions, but simple word of mouth. 70% of new entrants come from there. »
Too much aestheticization ba?
A boom in practice which nevertheless invites Richard Wawrzyniak to check a new box in the to-do-list-to-shine-this-summer: “It’s one of its big strengths to win at the Games: a sport urban and modern,” he boasts. 3×3 basketball, which also debuted in Tokyo, is another good example in his eyes.
Guaranteed success in August? Mistrust. Maria Fuentes recalls: “It will also depend on the place that the television channels will give it, the quality of the broadcast, the comments… These were notably criticized at Tokyo 2020”.
And while we’re quibbling: this chronicle of hype announced to come and the Olympicization of this sport are not always viewed favorably in the industry. “The events are over-aestheticized so that everyone can understand,” grumbles Lucas, a climber for fifteen years. For example, he fears an over-representation of throws, a jump between two holds, while there will be almost no arching – a kind of ignoble hold to hold with only one’s knuckles “because it doesn’t look good on TV or that the public does not understand the difficulty. So yes, it’s going to be a hit this summer, but it’s not climbing. »