TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Indonesia sees new hope in sport climbing at 2024 Paris Olympics
Change Size
Aries Susanti Rahayu
(Courtesy of FPTI/-)
I
ndonesian sport climbing is seeing a possible bright future in the Olympics as the sport is on its way to the 2024 Summer Games, which will be held in Paris.
The sport will have its Summer Olympic debut in the 2020 Tokyo Games, which will only contest a combined category of bouldering, lead and speed in men’s and women’s events.
Indonesia, which has a strong potential in the speed category, will likely have a big chance of bagging more Olympic medals in Paris, besides the usual badminton and weightlifting.
In sport climbing, Indonesia has women's speed world number four Aries Susanti Rahayu as well as men's speed world number six Aspar Jaelolo. Aries won gold medals in the Xiamen IFSC Climbing World Cup and Wujiang IFSC Climbing World Cup in 2018, while Aspar won a silver and gold. Aries also won a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games.
Read also: Asian Games 2018: RI ‘Spiderwoman’ creates history at home
The Paris Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Paris 2024) confirmed Thursday a proposal to include four additional sports in the 33rd Games, namely breakdance, skateboarding, surfing and sports climbing, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) said on its official website, ifsc-climbing.org.
The proposal will next be presented to the International Olympic Committee executive board from March 26 to 28. If accepted, the proposal will then be put forward to the 134th IOC session on June 24 in Lausanne, Switzerland. If approved, sports climbing will feature in the Summer Olympic Games for the second consecutive edition after its debut in 2020 Tokyo Games.
“We are grateful for the proposal’s recognition of the value of sport climbing and the work the IFSC has done. We are proud to be part of this process and we look forward to the next steps in the following months,” said IFSC president Marco Scolaris.
Paris Olympics organizers have proposed to feature speed and combine categories in the 2024 edition.
Since the founding of the IFSC in 2007 and definitive recognition by the IOC in 2010, sport climbing has been included in the sports programs of multiple Olympic events. In 2016, the sport was added to the upcoming Tokyo Games and most recent Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where sport climbing made its Olympic debut.
Separately, Indonesian Sport Climbing Federation (FPTI) director Pristiswan Buntoro responded positively to the news.
“We must feel grateful. It will set a new milestone in Indonesian sport climbing as it is reaching to its peak,” Pristiswan, who is the Indonesian team manager, said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post.
Nevertheless, Pristiswan said the development should not make the Indonesian sport climbing community complacent.
With its achievements in the speed category at a world level, Indonesia is pushing its climbers to step up their game in the lead and bouldering categories, where they are not as competitive.
“Now is the perfect time to push our athletes in the lead and bouldering categories for a better outcome in the future,” he added.
