In a surprising upset, Great Britain’s Toby Roberts became the first sport climber to claim the Olympic gold medal in the new format of the men’s bouldering/lead combined final. His phenomenal lead climb bested that of Japan’s Sorato Anraku, who was the heavy favorite to win. Anraku took silver after uncharacteristically falling in the lower part of the highest 10 holds.
Experienced lead climber Jakob Schubert of Austria took bronze after nearly topping the lead wall.
Anraku led the field following the boulder section of the final. The 17-year-old Japanese climber struggled to top Boulders 3 and 4 and ultimately finished the section with 69.3 points. American Colin Duffy followed closely behind with a score of 68.3 points, only a one-point difference between the two. Duffy was the only climber who topped Boulder 4, which tested each athlete’s coordination. He needed to launch himself several feet from a high hand hold to a lower foot hold while reaching for a crimp to top the boulder problem.
Roberts was the only other climber besides Anraku and Duffy to top two of the boulder problems, Boulders 1 and 3. These high scores set the three up with a strong advantage heading into the lead section.
Several climbers, including defending Olympic gold medalist Alberto Gines Lopez of Spain and Czechia’s Adam Ondra, hoped to make up for their low boulder scores with a strong lead climb. While Gines Lopez and Ondra earned some of the highest lead scores, their low boulder scores made them fall short of a podium position.
Duffy sat in medal contention for most of the lead section, but an unexpected fall after slight hesitation in the highest 10 holds left him in a precarious position with several skilled climbers left to go.
Schubert soon took the lead from Duffy after cleverly climbing up the wall. He nearly topped the route but slipped on the final hold, finishing with 96 points out of the possible 100 in the section (139.6 combined points).
Then it was Roberts’ turn. The 19-year-old lead specialist navigated through the wall with steadiness and ease before falling at the 92.1-point mark. With his strong boulder score, Roberts was set to earn an Olympic medal with a combined score of 155.2 points.
Finally, it was up to Anraku to decide what color medal Roberts and Schubert would leave with. Anraku needed 88 points in the lead section to gain the lead over Roberts. He started with confidence and quickly breezed through the lowest 10 holds. He was tactful, checking his grip on holds before reaching for the next.
Despite this, Anraku slightly slipped after a 180-degree maneuver in which he momentarily faced the audience to traverse to the next hold. He successfully recovered and progressed up the wall until he slipped again, falling from the hold — and off the climbing throne he was desperately trying to become the king of. His combined score of 145.4 points was 9.8 points short of Olympic gold.
Everyone was shocked, including Roberts. He stood up from his chair with a look of disbelief as the crowd cheered on the new Olympic champion.
Men’s bouldering/lead combined medalists
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