Paris 2024 Olympics – Men’s Combined Final. Roberts takes Gold
- Friday 9th August 2024
Toby Roberts takes Gold for Team GB in the Combined Boulder and Lead at Paris whilst Hamish McArthur finishes in 5th.
In dramatic scenes in the Le Bourget climbing centre, Paris, Toby Roberts (GBR) takes the Gold whilst Sorato Anraku (JPN) and Jakob Schubert (AUS) finish with Silver and Bronze respectively; Hamish McArthur (GBR) posts another amazing performance to finish in 5th overall.
Boulder
As usual for this new format in the Boulder and Lead Combined event, the finalists first compete on the four boulders. Arguably more so than the Lead, the Boulder round in such that the competition is very much open given it depends on the specifics of the four boulders which the setters have prepared. These boulders are deliberately set to test the climbers’ skill to the maximum by blending powerful and dynamic moves with coordination movements as well as precision and delicate balance climbing.
Qualifying in 8th place Hamish McArthur had the honour as the first climber out to start the competition. As in the earlier rounds, Hamish set the scene by securing a quick top on M1 a powerful and dynamic boulder comprising lots of slopey blobs and pockets. Colin Duffy (USA) and Jakob Schubert also topped M1 as did Toby Roberts - all however, took more attempts than Hamish to get their tops. Climbing last, Sorato Anraku however did just top the boulder but he stunned everyone by flashing it – the perfect start to his competition.
M2 was all about “slab” climbing and combined movement skills with balance and precision. Most of the competitors were able to secure the high bonus but most that did all tried to compete the boulder moving quickly. Sorato Anraku, on the other hand, moved slowly throughout whilst on this boulder. Initially, he struggled with the moves to secure the high bonus but once he mastered that section he continued to move slowly and with utmost balance and precision to get to the only top of the boulder. That propelled Anraku to the top of the table with a substantial lead.
The powerful moves on M3 seemed to destroy many of the finalists with no less than three of them failing to get any points at all – surprisingly, Jakob Schubert and Adam Ondra (CZE) included! Colin Duffy and Alberto Gines Lopez (ESP) did well but it was Hamish McArthur and Sorato Anraku who came the closest to topping M3 only to fail to control the final hold. M3 was crucial for Toby Roberts and in his typical “fight to the end” style we’ve seen numerous times Toby alone was able to control the last hold and be awarded the top. That rocketed Toby up the points to sit just beneath Sorato Anraku; the only climbers to have two tops with only a single boulder to go.
M4 was a coordination bloc comprising three distinct dynamic sections; an initial sideways jump, a three-move paddle section in the middle and a final Lache move onto a distance volume with a double “split” mono hold to finish! Of all the climbers only Adam Ondra and Toby Roberts didn’t complete the paddle moves up to the high bonus. Remarkably, Hamish abandoned the paddle beta and simply made a huge dyno between the two bonus holds earning him style and beta-breaking points from the audience! Colin Duffy alone was able to land the Lache with enough control and accuracy to stop the dynamic movement such that he could stab two fingers into the double mono and get the top.
Although it had been another tough men’s Boulder round, all the problems had been topped and whilst several competitors had come very close to multiple tops only three climbers had managed to get two tops.
Completing the Boulder round, Sorato Anraku ended in 1st place with 69.3pts, Colin Duffy was very close behind in 2nd with 68.3pts whilst Toby Roberts was still in contention in 3rd with 63.1pts. Hamish McArthur finished in 4th with 53.9pts, Jakob Schubert in 5th with 43.6pts, Paul Jenft (FRA) in 6th with 24.4pts and Adam Ondra and Alberto Gines Lopez in joint 7th place with 24.1pts each.
Sadly, the low Boulder scores from Paul Jenft, Adam Ondra and defending Olympic Champion, Alberto Gines-Lopez effectively meant that their Olympic dreams were all but dashed. Although Jakob Schubert was down in 5th place his Boulder score was almost double that of Jenft and Ondra - plus his Lead performance could be so good that it was still possible for him to defend his Bronze medal from Tokyo. As for the remaining climbers, Hamish McArthur’s stellar Boulder round had given him a solid foundation to build on for a high place/medal position. The top three climbers, Sorato, Colin and Toby were all so close that, in effect, all were in an excellent position to win the medals.
[Sidenote: Jakob Schubert had (provisionally) been awarded more points but following an appeal/review he was deducted 4.8pts from his score. This however didn’t impact his 5th place finish in the Boulder round. The points above reflect the amended scores.]
Lead
The Lead route was another amazing-looking route with no less than two separate campus sections in the lower and middle sections; the crucial headwall however was a combination of crimps and slopey dishes.
First to climb again was Hamish McArthur and once again he climbed superbly well moving smoothly and confidently. With no hesitation, Hamish pulled through the second of the campus sections superbly executing a 360deg rotation in the process. Barely pausing, Hamish continued onto the headwall before finally falling with 72points and a total of 125.9pts. As so often the case, although Hamish had qualified for the Final in 8th his performance looked strong enough to finish considerably higher in the table – obviously depending on how the remaining climbers did.
Falling just short of Hamish's high point, Colin Duffy fell with 68.1pts and a total of 126.4pts. Sadly, the home nation athlete Paul Jenft not only had the proverbial mountain to climb but he committed to the second campus section without having a crucial bolt clipped; ultimately he fell trying to get a couple more moves in the bank but his Olympics were over too.
Next out was Jakob Schubert. Although he was the oldest competitor in the Final he has such a history of great Lead performances behind him that everyone in the audience hung on his every move. Like the machine he is, Schubert slowly but steadily inched his way up the wall climbing very positively and accurately. A medal was always on the cards for Schubert but it would need an almost perfect score of 100pts to achieve; when he fell however he fell going for the final top hold so his Boulder score of 43.6 was boosted by a Lead score of 96pts giving him a total of 139.6pts - enough for the then (provisional) first place.
Defending Olympic Champion Alberto Gines-Lopez also put down an incredible Lead performance. He too is renowned for having incredible endurance so it wasn’t a surprise for him to get high on the wall; when he fell he was awarded 92.1pts – however, his overall score of 116.2pts wasn’t enough to threaten the leaders. Adam Ondra was in the same position as Gines-Lopez, even a top wouldn’t be enough. Nevertheless, Ondra climbed superbly and even found a kneebar “rest” on the headwall that no one else was to see. When Ondra finally fell he was awarded 96pts like Schubert albeit his combined score of 120.1pts was below McArthur’s.
Of the remaining climbers, Toby Roberts was the next one out. Like Sorato Anraku who would follow him, Toby was however under completely different pressure than say Schubert, Gines-Lopez and Ondra who had just climbed. Lying in 3rd place after the Boulder round Toby needed to blend precision with speed to ensure that he didn’t make any silly mistakes and fall off low down or time-out. As Roberts progressed slowly but steadily up the wall the pressure was palpable; one false error would probably end his dream. Taking micro shakes between moves Toby’s climbing was smart and efficient and once he was safely through the foot-off campus moves he dug deep and got high on the headwall before falling off with 92.1pts and a combined score of 155.2pts – almost 20pts more than Jakob Schubert.
Arguably as the favourite to win, the pressure was all on Soratu Anraku to perform at his very best. Like Roberts, Anraku also climbed with some degree of caution especially on the second pocketed campus section where he stopped and switched his hands around to climb that section differently than most others. Whether this somewhat cautious approach was a significant “energy sump” or not we’ll never know but soon after Sorato appeared to be in trouble and ultimately he fell with 76.31pts and a combined score of 145.4pts.
The moment that Sorato fell the cameras panned to Toby and the other athletes on the stage; at first Toby didn’t realise it but slowly he realised that Sorato had fallen with fewer points than himself and that instead of getting 2nd and Silver he thought he would, Toby had – against the odds - won climbing Gold!!
Being interviewed by Discovery+/Eurosport afterwards Toby gave his reaction to his win saying: “To be honest, I have literally no words; I don’t think this is ever going to sink in – just literally no words. I was just sitting there happy with a Silver – just sat there completely happy – then when I found out I’d got Gold it was just an incredible moment. I’m so happy!”
He also spoke about the Lead route saying: “I was really nervous before my Lead route so coming out and getting a really good performance I’m just so, so happy.”
What both Toby Roberts and Hamish McArthur did today was incredible; both climbed to their full potential to outperform the best climbers in the world. Tomorrow, Erin McNeice climbs in the women’s Combined Final, we wish her all the very best of luck in that too.