Cliff Length Not Only “Speed”, “Lead” Also Ready to Compete in the Olympics

The climbing wall is 15 meters high, the same as the speed wall. However, there are parts of the wall that are contoured with significant slopes. Climbers are challenged to reach the highest point in the fastest time. In one climbing opportunity, they have six minutes.

That's lead, a discipline in rock climbing that tests the climber's agility and endurance, rather than speed. The climbing route always changes depending on the level of difficulty. If no climber reaches the top, the winner is determined by who is able to reach the highest point between one and 50.

Before speed debuted at the 2024 Paris Olympics, lead and boulder had been contested at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, in Indonesia, lead is less popular than speed, which can last only a matter of seconds in each climb. From the speed discipline, Indonesia also made history by winning a gold medal through Veddriq Leonardo.

However, this year, the lead has entered the second phase in long-term preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The coach of the Indonesian rock climbing team, Hendra Basir, said that the lead athletes have started training to be able to compete on the international stage.

The highest target (lead) is to be a finalist in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This is the highest target. Unlike speed, the highest target is to defend the gold medal.

In the first phase of 2020-2024, training focused on the development and foundation-building of athletes. During this stage, endurance became the primary focus. Following that, in 2025-2028, athletes will learn to compete, thereby increasing their experience in participating in various competitions.

When that phase goes right, the final phase is training to win. This stage is equivalent to the current speed. "The highest target (lead) is to be a finalist at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This is the highest target. Different from speed, the highest target is to defend the gold medal," said Hendra, Friday (7/3/2025).

Currently, there are eight lead athletes training at the national rock climbing training center at the Santika Premier Hotel, Kota Harapan Indah, Bekasi, West Java. They will begin this year's journey by participating in the Rock Climbing World Cup in Wujiang, China, on April 25-27.

In the middle of the year, the coaching team will select several athletes deemed ready to compete in order to enhance their skills abroad. They are scheduled to undergo training camps in Europe while participating in competitions there.

Europe is the choice because the sport climbing industry, especially lead, has been established there. Thus, there are thousands of routes with various difficulties that athletes can try. An understanding of the various routes is needed by athletes in order to compete in the international arena.

The Chairperson of the Indonesian Climbing Federation, Yenny Wahid, stated that sending athletes abroad aims to familiarize them with varied routes. This is something that is still difficult to achieve in Indonesia due to limited facilities and infrastructure.

The strategy is being prepared while encouraging course designers and judges to also study or attend courses abroad. In this way, they can later assist in designing tracks or routes that are increasingly complex and challenging.

Yenny said that the effort was made so that more Indonesian rock climbing athletes would qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Not only from the speed discipline, but also from the lead or boulder.

After participating in the World Climbing Cup in Wujiang, Indonesian lead athletes will appear in front of their own public at the World Climbing Cup to be held in Bali. On the IFSC (International Climbing Federation) calendar, this event will be held on May 3-4, 2025 by competing in the lead and speed disciplines.

This event marks the third time Indonesia has hosted the Climbing World Cup series. In 2022, Indonesia hosted the World Cup for the first time by organizing it in the SCBD area, Jakarta.

A year later, Indonesia held it again at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Senayan. Not only that, in 2023, Indonesia also hosted the IFSC Climbing Asian Qualifier 2023 or the Asian Zone Rock Climbing Qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The event was also held at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Senayan.

Despite hosting the World Cup three times, the Bali event will be the first time Indonesia has held the event outside Jakarta. The Bali World Cup will also be the last stop on a three-leg Asian tour that includes World Cups in two Chinese cities, Keqiao and Wujiang.