Male Olympic Qualifiers

There’s a lot of speculation around the upcoming men's qualifiers on the 3rd, and with such a deep field of competitors we decided to do the leg work for you and compile the important stats on the first 20 male competitors who will be debuting in Sport Climbing in Tokyo this week. 

See the athletes in order of seeding, including our very own Tom O’Halloran for Australia at number 19.

‍

1. Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)

Age: 25

Hometown: Tochigi

Height:170cm

Strength: Bouldering (but don’t get us wrong, he is pretty damn good at everything…)

Fastest speed climb: Xiamen 2019 - 7.14

Current world rankings: Boulder 1st | Lead 20th | Speed 20th

This man is the king of flow and dynamic movement, so if there is a coordination climb keep your eye out!

‍

‍

2. Jakob Schubert (AUT)

Age: 30

Hometown: Innsbruck

Height: 176cm

Strength: Lead climbing and Bouldering

Fastest speed climb: Edinburgh 2019 - 7.94

Current world rankings: Boulder 10th | Lead 14th | Speed 67th

Jakob eats pressure for breakfast.. along with a high protein diet. Jakob will be one to watch, a seasoned competitor with 22 world cup gold medals to his name. 

‍

‍

3. Rishat Khaibullin (KAZ)

Age: 25

Hometown: Almaty

Height: 170cm

Strength: Speed climbing

Fastest speed climb: Villars 2021-  5.728

Current world rankings: Speed 29th

‍

‍

‍

4. Kai Harada (JPN)

Age: 22

Hometown: Tokyo

Height: 169cm

Strength: Lead climbing and bouldering!

Fastest speed climb: Salt Lake City 2021- 7.89

2019 world rankings: Boulder 12th | Lead 4th | Speed 60th

A silent assassin, an understated climber that consistently performs on the main stage.

‍

‍

5. Mickael Mawem (FRA)

Age: 30

Hometown: Aubervilliers

Height: 179cm

Strength: Bouldering

Fastest speed climb: Gaflenz 2021 - 6.87

2019 world rankings: Boulder 30th | Lead 71st | Speed 34th

One of the two Mawem brothers that we get to watch in the Olympics.

‍

‍

‍

6. Alex Megos (GER)

Age: 27

Hometown: Erlangen

Height: 175cm

Strength: Lead climbing

Fastest speed climb: Villars 2021 - 7.91

2019 world rankings: Boulder 19th | Lead 7th 

What can we say about Alex Megos…A seasoned outdoor climber who claims his strength comes from eating Carrots, he has all the skills to take home gold. Megos and Adam Ondra are in a league of their own when it comes to climbing repertoire. Can his performance consistency hold out during the two rounds of competition in the Olympics? 

‍

‍

7. Ludovico Fossali (ITA)

Age: 24

Hometown: Bieno 

Height: 185cm

Strength: Speed climbing - Ludovico is a quick boy.

Fastest speed climb: Villars 2021 - 5.94

2019 world rankings: Speed 15th 

‍

‍

‍

8. Sean McColl (CAN)

Age: 33

Hometown: Maple Ridge

Height: 169cm

Strength: Lead climbing

Speed: Salt Lake City 2021 - 7.81

2019 world rankings: Boulder 21st | Lead 3rd | Speed 66th

This man definitely understands competition, having competed on the world stage since he was a junior. We have looked into his history and from our understanding Sean McColl has not missed a season of competitions for 15 years...

‍

‍

9. Michael Piccolruaz (ITA)

Age: 25

Hometown: Santa Cristina

Height: 178cm

Strength: All rounder

Fastest speed climb: Salt Lake City 2021 - 6.70

2019 world rankings: Boulder 33rd | Lead 53rd | Speed 53rd

‍

10. Jongwon Chon (KOR)

Age: 25

Hometown: Seoul

Height: 176cm

Strength: Bouldering and celebrations

Fastest speed climb: Xiamen 2019 - 6.807

2019 world rankings: Boulder 4th | Lead 58th | Speed 73rd

Keep an eye out for Jongwon’s celebrations, he knows how to perform well and hype up the crowd.

‍

‍

‍

11. Adam Ondra (CZE)

Age: 28

Hometown: Brno

Height: 186cm

Strength: Being Adam Ondra…Lead climbing and Bouldering

Fastest speed climb:  Xiamen 2019 - 8.43

2019 world rankings: Boulder 2nd | Lead 1st 

Often referred to as the ‘best climber ever’ this man boasts almost as many World Cup Golds as Jakob Schubert. Adam has not only annihilated indoor competitive climbing whenever he chooses to step into the arena, but he has also sent the hardest outdoor climbs all over the globe. No doubt this man has what it takes to grab gold however his consistency in competitions and the pressure could be his downfall.

‍

‍

12. Bassa Mawem (FRA)

Age: 36

Hometown: Clermont Ferrand

Height: 184cm

Strength: Speed climbing..big time!

Fastest speed climb: Gaflenz 2021 - 5.44

2019 world rankings: Speed 1st

Don’t blink or you will miss Bassa flying up the Speed wall because he is the fastest man in the world. As the Olympics combines three disciplines he will need to perform where he has historically been weaker.

Bassa will be competing alongside brother Mickael.

‍

‍

‍

13. Jan Hojer (GER)

Age:29

Hometown:Frechen

Height: 188cm

Strength: Bouldering

Fastest speed climb: Salt Lake City - 6.40

2019 world rankings: Boulder 6th | Lead 40th | Speed 48th

Another incredibly seasoned competitor, boasting countless World Cup golds and podium places throughout his incredibly successful career.

‍

‍

14. Yufei Pan (CHN)

Age: 21

Hometown: Beijing 

Height: 173cm

Strength: Lead climbing and Bouldering

Fastest speed climb: Xiamen 2019 - 7.054

2019 world rankings: Boulder 17th | Lead 13th | Speed 54th

A young competitor to the senior competition scene but holds some very impressive standings in all disciplines.

‍

‍

15. Alberto Gines Lopez (ESP)

Age: 18

Hometown: Sant Cugat del Valles

Height: 178cm

Strength: Lead climbing

Fastest speed climb: Villars 2021 - 6.29

2019 world rankings: Boulder 72nd | Lead 2nd

‍

‍

16. Nathaniel Coleman (USA)

Age: 24

Hometown: Murray

Height: 182cm

Strength: Bouldering

Fastest speed climb: Villars 2021 - 6.92

2019 world rankings: Boulder 20th | Lead 30th | 64th

Nathaniel stepped  onto his first World Cup podium at 18, so although Nathaniel is young, he has plenty of experience.

‍

‍

‍

17. Aleksey Rubtsov (RUS)

Age: 33

Hometown: Moscow

Height: 178cm

Strength: Bouldering

Fastest speed climb: Moscow 2020 - 8.11

2019 world rankings: Boulder 7th | Lead 49th 

One of the older competitors on the scene, and that age and experience can’t be overlooked for such a high pressure event. Aleksey is STRONG, but would you expect anything else from a Russian.

‍

‍

‍

18. Colin Duffy (USA)

Age: 17

Hometown: Broomfield

Height: 168cm

Strength: All rounder!

Fastest speed climb: Villars 2021- 6.46

2019 world rankings: This kid is too young to have rankings from two years ago….. But trust us, since then Colin has made a name for himself. Recently he placed himself on a Lead World Cup podium (Villars, FR), that confidence will serve him well stepping onto the big stage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

‍

‍

19. Tom O’Halloran (AUS)

Age: 29

Hometown: Brisbane

Height: 180cm

Strength: Lead climbing

Fastest speed climb: Sydney 2020 - 7.12 

World rankings 2019: Lead 78th

Primarily an outdoor climber, the allure of the Olympics was too much for Tom and he has trained consistently for competitions over the last three years. Tom’s impressive outdoor feats can’t be overlooked being the first Aussie to climb 9A. 

‍

‍

‍

20. Christopher Cosser (RSA)

Age: 20

Hometown: Johannesburg

Height: 178cm

Strength: All rounder.

Fastest speed climb: Salt Lake City 2021 - 6.83

A relatively new kid on the block only competing at a few  events this year prior to his time as a junior competitor in 2019. With a sub 7 second speed climbing time he is definitely in the mix for a good ranking through the speed qualification… Chris is a potential dark horse and will be an interesting one to watch.