IOC President visits Sport Climbing as historic first medal awarded

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and a delegation of IOC guests paid a visit to the Sport Climbing competition yesterday evening at the Aomi Urban Sports Park.

On hand to welcome them was International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) President Marco Scolaris.

Together they watched the Men’s Combined final, won by Alberto Gines Lopez of Spain, and the first ever Olympic medal presentation for Sport Climbing. The Spanish climber became the first Olympic gold medallist for the sport, with Nathaniel Coleman of USA and Jakob Schubert of Austria taking the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Also part of the IFSC delegation that greeted President Bach were IFSC Athletes’ Commission President Sean McColl of Canada, IFSC Athletes’ Commission Vice President Shauna Coxsey of Great Britian, and Bassa Mawem of France.

The IOC delegation – which included IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper, and IOC Sport Director Kit McConnell – was treated to some fantastic Climbing and the IOC President appeared pleased both with the action on the wall and the ceremony on the podium. The medals were presented to the athletes by IOC Executive Board Member and President of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation Ivo Ferriani.

“It was a great pleasure to welcome President Bach, and the other IOC guests to witness Sport Climbing during its historic Olympic debut,” Scolaris said. “We have been overwhelmed by the great support and interest in our sport that we have received here in Tokyo and across the globe.

“Our climbers – the ambassadors of our sport – are really enjoying their first Olympic experience. Once again, I would like to thank President Bach and the hole Olympic Movement for coming tonight and all those who have welcomed us into the Olympic Family.”

The women’s Combined final will take place today, starting at 5:00 PM (UTC+9:00).

For more photos click here.

For more information:

Marco Vettoretti, IFSC Head of Communications

marco.vettoretti@ifsc-climbing.org +39 371 4155701

About the IFSC: The International Federation of Sport Climbing is the international governing body of Sport Climbing. It was founded on 27 January 2007 as a continuation of the International Council for Competition Climbing, which was founded 10 years earlier, in 1997. As a non-profit organisation, the objectives of the IFSC are the direction, regulation, promotion and development of Sport Climbing competitions all around the world.

Sport Climbing will make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, and it’s been officially included in the programme of Paris 2024. In 2018, two medal events in Sport Climbing were contested at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

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