Sport climbing at Olympia: Gifted medal for Ondra? - Combined

If Adam Ondra Olympic champion will be in sports climbing, then that would be no surprise. The Czech is one of the top athletes on the boulder wall and is currently the best lead climbers on this planet. However, that the 28-year-old Czechs may be very relieved of the path to the brightest precious metal, a mode that contradicts the sports spirit of blatant.

It's neither ondra or megos, but about the sports spirit

So that the impression does not arise, one would not treat ondra a possible victory, that must be explained, of course, even if it is a bit more complex. And of course, this text is not a motivated plea for the German climber Alex Megos, who steps past the Combined qualifier ahead of the final.

At the starting point: Bassa Mawem qualified as a seventh for the combined finale, but at the lead qualification tore in the Frenchman of the left biceps, so that the Olympic dream of the 31-year-old burst buried. As usual in many sports, injured is replaced or replaced by the sporty next best athletes in the re-return procedure. Does Megos get his chance in the final as "Lucky Loser"? No, the crystal clear answer is, because in sport climbing there is no return procedure. Out. The End. And accepted, finally, all sport climbers know this procedure from Zig competitions.

An honorable idea and your explosive

The well-honored idea behind this scheme is: An athlete should not lose his placement because of an injury, So Bassa Mawem will officially end the final as a eighth, even if he is at the time when the medals are being negotiated long ago sitting in the plane to France .

The moment as the sport climbing into the Dilemma Schlittere: Bassa Mawem with cracked biceps. Picture Alliance / DPPi Media

Now for peculiarity and the explosiveness of this scheme: On Thursday, the speed climb opens the Combined finale. The Showdown of the Tempolaufs at the 15 meter wall becomes other than the qualification in which only the time about placements decides is always discharged over several K.-O.-duels. The, who depicted the fastest speed time from the finalists, occurs against the one who has the slowest speed time. Specifically, the injured Bassa Mawem (5.45 seconds) would start against Adam Ondra (7.46 seconds).

Multiplication factor four acts like a distortion of competition

Since MAWEM is not replaced, the duel is completely out and Ondra draws directly into the semifinals. Without the Czech Lotto has played, he gets a six with additional number in front of the feet laid. Because instead of a probable seventh or eighth place, he now has four safe. That is: Ondra goes with the multiplication factor four (or better) into the two subsequent disciplines - and not with the factor seven or eight. Since all individual results are multiplied by one another, you could already see in the qualification that a shift by only one place has better or poor massive effects on the overall ranking.

Who wants a gifted medal?

It is superfluous to mention that it can not like the other six finalists when the boulder and lead specialist OnDra continues with such a good rating from his weak speed discipline. Without that someone can do something for this, this meets many criteria of a distortion of competition.

And ondra itself can not actually endure this advantage. Because in the case of an achieved medal - or even the Olympic Mail - this award would always be handled with a blemish. A gifted medal, which does not match the spirit of the climbing scene and not the competitor Ondra. For him it is a dilemma without way out.

The way out of the dilemma? The high-sprayer as a model

Or had it given one? Maybe the two Hochschringer Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa Barshim showed how the Olympic spirit really works. The Italian and the Katara agreed on common gold and finished their duel when both were completely out. What a sign in the middle of the "crunchtime" of a competition! How much easier would it be to refill the starting field for the Combined final for Fairness reasons with an eighth athlete in order to make the specified mode in a sporty way?

Then the injured Bassa Mawem could still be officially eighth of the combined finale, except that he would have to share this place with that, which focuses on athletic in the final at the weakest.

A solaronic attitude of the control bodies would definitely face the Olympic premiere of sport climbing.

Megos, Hojer & Co: These 20 climbers have gold in their heads