Aleksandra Mirosław wins Speed Climbing's historic first gold at Paris 2024!

13:14
Poland's Aleksandra Mirosław wins this first, historic Speed Climbing Olympic medal in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Silver goes to China's Lijuan Deng who was neck and neck with the Polish athlete right until the last moves. Polish teammate Aleksandra Kalucka secures bronze, while Rajiah Sallsabillah places fourth.

With the awarding of these first medals we'll now end our live reporting for today. We'll be back tomorrow at 10:00 with the Women's Lead Semifinal, followed by the Men's Speed Final at 12:35. We hope you enjoyed the spectacle, thanks for having been with us and see you tomorrow!

12:59
SPEED FINAL: Aleksandra Mirosław vs Lijuan Deng. Years of training for this moment. Deng gets off to an amazing start, but Miroslaw overtakes her, keeps it together, wins! Gold, the first historic Speed gold medal, goes to Aleksandra Mirosław.

12:58
Small final: Aleksandra Kalucka vs Rajiah Sallsabillah. Kalucka sets off faster than lighting, Sallsabillah slips. Kalucka wins, tears of joy for her, bronze. The first Speed climbing ​medal is hers!

12:54
A short break, then the small final for bronze. In many respects this is the cruelest comp of all. Aleksandra Kalucka vs Rajiah Sallsabillah. The winner takes an Olympic medal....

12:52
Second semifinal: Rajiah Sallsabillah vs Lijuan Deng. Tension is sky high. Deng wins, 6.38 vs 6.41. They hug each other. What a race!

12:49
First semifinal: Aleksandra Miroslaw vs Aleksandra Kalucka. Teammates, but this is no training run... Miroslaw wins, but only just. She's in the final! And she's guaranteed a medal!

12:45
Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi vs Lijuan Deng. Dewi starts well but Deng overtakes her right at the end. Speed climbing at its finest, 6 milleseconds separate the two.

12:41
Emma Hunt vs Rajiah Sallsabillah. Hunt storms ahead, then slips. Sallsabillah wins, 6:54

12:39
Aleksandra Kalucka vs Yafei Zhou. Kalucka wins 6:49.

12:36
Aleksandra Miroslaw vs. Leslie Adriana Romero Pérez. Miroslaw wins with ease.

12:35
15m high. 5° overhanging. 20 handholds. 11 footholds. 6.06 the world record. Those the stats. But the only thing that really counts is beating your opponent. The athletes are out, ready for the biggest competition of their lives!

12:05
After a short break, we'll be back at 12.30 for the women's speed. Their first-ever set of medals,  awarded here in Paris in afew minutes time!

11:58
Today's Lead route was a tough test and despite the fact that no one managed to top out, the route setters did a great job of separating the athletes. The Semis proved exciting and the pressure was evidently intense. The top eight have qualified for the finals: Sorato Anraku (137), Toby Roberts (122.2), Adam Ondra (116.8), Alberto Gines Lopez (100.7), Jakob Schubert (98.8), Paul Jenft (91.1), Colin Duffy (87.9) and Hamish McArthur (79.3). They'll be back in the arena on Friday morning!

11:52
At this point there's no way Sorato Anraku can know it, but thanks to his excellent Boulder score the Japanese is mathematically in the final even before starting his lead run! The 19-year-old climbs confidently and quickly, without taking any risks whatsoever. He reaches the upper section regular as clockwork but then, just like Ondra and Roberts, falls off the headwall moves that prove to intense and complex. After a repeat of his outstanding Boulder performance, he places first overall with a stunning 137 points. Gamba!

11:45
Toby Roberts is today's penultimate athlete and he's in strong contention for a medal! But the pressure and tension is the same for everyone. Right from the outset he climbs keeping everyone on tenterhooks, makes a couple of mistakes low down but miraculously stays glued to the wall. With his fingertips. After almost falling low down, he enters fight mode. Battles, recovers. Never gives up. And reaches the same hold as Adam Ondra before dropping off. 122.2 points, provisional first. And certainly in Friday's final!

11:34
Tomoa Narasaki, the first Japanese to compete today, knows he has to climb a bit outside his comfort zone if he wants a place in the finals. His risk-taking style isn't ideal for today's route and he ends his Olympics earlier than expected. His score of 66.5 won't be enough for the finals.

11:30
The route is merciless, takes no prisoners. Even Dohyun Lee falls victim, low down, with a score of 46.0.

11:25
The route continues to be unpredictable, nothing can be taken for granted, the athletes have shown us that it's possibile to fall literally anywhere. Colin Duffy tackles the route head-on, guns blazing, leaving nothing to chance. Halfway up he fumbles a clip. Yet he continues, upwards, then falls. 87.9 his final score. Will it be enough to secure a ticket for the final? There are still 5 to go...

11:20
Alex Megos must now redeem himself after his poor performance in Boulder. He knows he has a mountain ahead of him. He climbs confidently through the first section but all of a sudden his foot slips! Incredible! He appeared to be in total control. Unfortunately his race for an Olympic medal ends here, with a disappointingly low score of 48.7.

11:14
Here's an athlete we've all been waiting for, Adam Ondra, 3 times Lead World Champion, one boulder World Champion. He's gunning for gold. Banking on his incredible experience he seems to rest on every single hold, jams, takes weight off his hands. Completely solid through the footless section, he's confident but not complacent. Now he's on the headwall, close to the highpoint set by Lopez, but then he fails to find the right body position and falls. Ondra being Ondra, he's not fully satisfied with his performance. But he also knows he's done enough to qualify for the final. He smiles and finishes the comp with 116.8 points, provisional first.

11:09
The crowd goes into overdrive, it's Sam Avezou out next! And the 7000 spectators continue to cheer him on throughout his entire test! He climbs quickly, perhaps a little too quickly, taking quite some gambels. Too many? His foot slips and he falls, in absolute disbelief! He waves goodbye to the crowd, almost apologetically, with just 61.3 points

11:06
Yannick Flohé tackles the route which his hallmark power and control, climbing quickly and without any problems whatsoever low down. All of a sudden though he's in trouble. Completely. He falls and concludes his run with 68.7 points, too few for his Olympic dream!

11:02
Sascha Lehmann out now, in his favourite discipline. However, he's not as cool and calm as usual, isn't efficient and falls low. Surprisingly, he finishes the comp with just 36.1 total points. His Olympic adventure ends here.

10:56
The crowd erupts, cheers and chants to welcome Paul Jenft! The Frenchman climbs well, somehow finding excellent positions to rest in the overhanging section despite his unbelievable height of 1.90m. But too many risks on the traverse prove costly. He finishes the comp with 91.1 points though and is provisional second.

10:50
After an hour of competition, reigning Olympic Champion Alberto Ginés López, enters the stadium, wanting to make up for his somewhat underpar boulder performance. He appears to be far more relaxed than the rest of the field, perhaps feeding off his Tokyo experience. He's quick where he needs to be, takes a few calulated risks though the footless section, then suddenly is up on the headwall and higher than everyone else. Way higher. The route setters must be relieved! Then he falls crossing through on the headwall. 100.7 points in total thrust him into provisional first in the overall results. It is too early to say, but we'll hazard a guess: he's probably done enough for the final!

10:45
The route is proving to be an extremely tough test for the athletes who have to fight pretty much right from the outset. Add to this the tension of being at the Olympics. The top ten still need to climb. We can't wait to see what they'll get up to...

10:42
Jesse Grupper begins by greeting the crowds with a huge smile! He climbs through the first part with determination and without haste. Up on the volumes and small he's suddenly in difficulty and falls low, way to low for his liking. He smiles again as he bids farewell. What a man!

10:38
Hannes Van Duysen sets off like a rocket, clearly he doesn't want to hang around on the holds for a second longer than necessary. But halfway through the overhang he takes too much of a risk and falls. Way too low. Seeing how he performed in Budapest a few weeks ago, here in Paris he could have done much, much more.

10:34
Pan Yufei enters the arena. He climbs a bit slowly, isn't as precise as usual, seems to struggle. The tension of the Olympic competition must be sky high. He falls and will no doubt be disappointed with his score of 30.1. Nevertheless he's in provisional third behind MacArthur. And Sorato Anraku, who hasn't even climbed yet!

10:30
Luka Potocar is now out, ready to make up for his poor show in bouldering. Winner of Lead World Cups, expectations are understandably high here. But he makes a few too many mistakes low down, hesitates and falls low. He seemend almost overly relaxed; definitely not his best showing today. 24 points.

10:24
Third athlete out is Hamish McArthur. The Brit seems slightly nervous but nevertheless climbs impressively. He controls the moves through the overhanging section leaving nothing to chance, but on the upper section he wastes precious energy clipping a quickdraw. Despite this he goes full throttle, powers through a few footless moves, then falls. 45.1 points. A great climb, probably not enough though.

10:17
Next up Campbell Harrison in his favorite discipline. He'll certainly want to redeem himself after Monday's disappointing performance in Boulder. He climbs with determination and rhythm through the first section, powers comfortably through the traverse, but falls on the first volumes. What a great climb for the Australian who's done so much for climbing in general! 14 points.

10:15
This Olympic semi-final begins with Mel Janse van Rensburg. He climbs past the first moves without hesitation, but as soon as he enters the steepest section the route changes gear and the South African tumbles. 7.1 his score.

10:07
Athletes are back in isolation. Mel Janse Van Rensburg will be the first out. The stadium is packed and ready to go!

10:01
The comp has officially begun. 20 athletes are below the wall observing the route. They've got 5 minutes to check out the beta and it's great seeing that working out the moves together. Sportsmanship at its best. Better still, the Olympic spirit at its best!

9:55
After the sweltering heat on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday is slightly cloudy. Temperatures should be lower, 17°C at the moment, but the action will be as blazingly hot!

9:50
Lead is about to begin. Just a quick reminder about the Olympic scoring system which is significantly differentl from World Cup events. There are four scoring sections on the wall, and the higher they climb the more points they are awarded. Scores are assigned to each hold in descending order, starting from the top: the 10 highest holds, including the top, are worth four points each, followed by 10 holds that are worth three points each, 10 that are worth two points each, and 10 that are worth one point each. Any remaining hold before the start of the route has no point value. There will be signage on the wall to tell you the sections. An additional 0.1 points is awarded for using, but not controlling a hold.

7:36
Wednesday 7 August, day 3 of sport climbing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Today the first, historic Speed ​medals will be awarded. Yes because while at the Tokyo Olympics only 1 medal per gender was awarded to the Combined discipline that comprised Speed, Boulder & Lead, here in Paris the number of medals has been increased to 2 per gender: one for the Speed and one for the Combined Boulder+Lead.

So today all eyes will be on Speed starting at 12:30, in particular on immortal Aleksandra Mirosław who two days ago set a new world record by stopping the clock after 6.06 seconds. But first up there's the men's Lead, on that beautiful wall on the left side of the arena. 100 points are on the table and will be added to those already earned in Boulder two days ago. The best 8 qualify for the final. Sorato Anraku currently sits firmly in first place with 69 points, ahead of Tomoa Narasaki with 54.4 points and Toby Roberts with 54.1 points.

Join planetmountain for the latest sport climbing news from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Our reporting will begin shortly before 10:00. The athletes competing today are:

MEN'S BOULDER & LEAD
Jakob Schubert (AUT) - 1. World Championships Bern 2023
Colin Duffy (USA) - 2. World Championships Bern 2023
Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) - 3. World Championships Bern 2023
Toby Roberts (GBR) - 1. European Qualifier Laval 2023
Jesse Grupper (USA) - 1. Pan American Games Santiago 2023
Sorato Anraku (JPN) - 1. Asian Qualifier Jakarta 2023
Campbell Harrison (AUS) - 1. Oceania Qualifier Melbourne 2023
Mel Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) - 1. African Qualifier Pretoria 2023
Dohyun Lee (KOR) - 1. Olympic Qualifier Series
Sam Avezou (FRA) - 2. Olympic Qualifier Series
Adam Ondra (CZE) - 3. Olympic Qualifier Series
Alberto Ginés López (ESP) - 4. Olympic Qualifier Series
Hannes Van Duysen (BEL) - 5. Olympic Qualifier Series
Paul Jenft (FRA) - 6. Olympic Qualifier Series
Yannick Flohé (GER) - 8. Olympic Qualifier Series
Hamish Mcarthur (GBR) - 9. Olympic Qualifier Series
Sascha Lehmann (SUI) - 10. Olympic Qualifier Series
Alexander Megos (GER) - 11. Olympic Qualifier Series
Luka Potocar (SLO) - 12. Olympic Qualifier Series
Pan Yufei (CHN) - 13. Olympic Qualifier Series

WOMEN'S SPEED
Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi (INA) - 1. World Championships Bern 2023
Emma Hunt (USA) - 2. World Championships Bern 2023
Aleksandra Miroslaw (POL) - 1. European Qualifier Rome 2023
Piper Kelly (USA) - 1. Pan American Games Santiago 2023
Lijuan Deng (CHN) - 1. Asian Qualifier Jakarta 2023
Sarah Tetzlaff (NZL) - 1. Oceania Qualifier Melbourne 2023
Aniya Holder (RSA) - African Qualifier Pretoria 2023
Yafei Zhou (CHN) - 1. Olympic Qualifier Series
Aleksandra Kalucka (POL) - 2. Olympic Qualifier Series
Rajiah Sallsabillah (INA) - 3. Olympic Qualifier Series
Capucine Viglione (FRA) - 7. Olympic Qualifier Series
Manon Lebon (FRA) - 10. Olympic Qualifier Series
Leslie Adriana Romero Pérez (ESP) - 12. Olympic Qualifier Series
Beatrice Colli (ITA) - 13. Olympic Qualifier Series