It's a passion, a way of life. It's part of my life.
Everything I do in my life
is for climbing and training.
It's giving me this opportunity to push myself to the limit
to try to qualify for the Olympics,
which is the highest goal that climbing has ever seen.
ROAD TO TOKYO SPORT CLIMBING THE QUALIFIER STORIES
DAY 3 MEN - FINAL ROUND
Me and Sean, I think that we both climbed really well.
I was on one end, one side of the line, qualified.
And he was the first spot out of qualifying.
That was really hard for him.
And now it's hard for me to see him go through that.
I think climbing could bring to the Olympics
that comradeship spirit we share.
People can see competition is not just rivalry.
We can be friends among us.
I admire all athletes. In order to be here today,
we've all worked really hard.
I respect all athletes for their efforts.
IFSC CLIMBING COMBINED QUALIFIER
You're just having the cold or...
It's just like really weird.
Woke up in the middle of the night with like,
a little bit stomach ache,
really back pain and just headache,
and well, in the morning I couldn't really get off
my bed. I felt like, "No way!"
But then I was thinking, "Maybe if I'm last,
I won't be qualified."
I have great respect for Adam Ondra who does
exceptional things for climbing and pushes the level
higher and higher.
His climbing style is so efficient
and so like maximized and he seems like
one of the most passionate people about climbing.
I think he's the best climber in history
and we won't see someone like him for a long time.
Good evening and welcome back to the South of France.
We are in Toulouse for the final
of the Olympic selection event.
And we've got eight men participating.
SPEED
So the French crowd really comes alive
with Bassa Mawem,
who's taking on Adam Ondra.
They're absolutely flying up the route here,
Bassa Mawem. Keep an eye on the time.
Speed is my worst discipline,
starting from scratch and getting to a good level
has been a challenge.
My goal now is qualifying for the Olympics.
Going into the Speed climbing, it's so easy to make a mistake
that you're just really hoping that you can get like,
within a tenth of a second of your best time.
So here they come, battling it out
for first and second.
Jan got a good start but so did Bassa,
and Bassa absolutely ripping up
through the middle section of the route.
Keep an eye on the time.
Five point seven two seven!
Jan Hojer will have to settle for second.
I think he'll be pretty happy with that.
And Bassa Mawem has done what he needed to do.
That was the climb...
The climb of my life. I don't know whether...
it was for my brother, for my family,
or for me, but...
As soon as they arrive, it's important to...
We still talk with our friends and we try to share betas.
It's kind of an altruistic thing
but it is also kind of a selfish thing
'cause the more people you can talk to,
the more ideas you can get.
I don't think you see this in many sports,
competitors helping each other.
Boulder, his strongest discipline.
It's coming up next.
Representing Czech Republic, Adam Ondra.
He is definitely not feeling great,
we are told.
But Adam Ondra ill is still one of the best climbers
in the world.
And he finds the top.
Representing Spain, welcome Mr. Alberto Ginés López.
Come on, Alberto! Come on!
Alberto is young, and I get athletes have their own views,
but at my age I have some wider perspective already.
Come on, keep it up.
If you go step by step, you can do it.
Keep it together. Be patient.
Come on. Carefully.
The "no" is a given, fight for the "yes".
Nathaniel Coleman gonna proudly represent
the United States of America.
Come on, Nathaniel.
I think my chances are 50-50. Half the time I'm like,
"You know what? I'm gonna do it."
Couldn't stay on the wall and does not find the top.
Give him a round of applause.
Fifteen seconds left, no use to try again.
It's gonna be harder when it gets dirtier.
Bassa Mawem!
The athletes are not just here to qualify,
they want the best possible result.
That's what I'm aiming at.
His last attempt, you'd imagine here,
Bassa Mawem, 15 seconds to go,
realistically I think, just looking for a zone.
Shakes his hands as if to say, "No, not this one."
That's how they stand right now.
ONDRA ADAM CZE FUJII KOKORO JPN
Looking at the track, it didn't seem too hard.
It has to be easier,
as we come from Boulder and Speed,
we are a bit tired.
For me, it's an honor to be
close to Adam, just to say hi.
For Alberto, having him as a "mentor"...
there's no way to describe it.
Now it is time for the Lead.
Representing United States of America,
Mr. Nathaniel Coleman.
I would say that sport climbing is more than 50 percent mental.
'Cause you can have as much fitness as you want,
but if you can't keep your heart rate down,
and if you can't continue to make good decisions
when you're tired,
all that fitness is gonna go out of the window.
Yeah, Nate.
Yeah, boy. Come on, Nate.
Make some noise for Alberto Ginés,
please!
Representing my country in the Olympics would be
a massive success this season.
Come on!
Go! Go!
There he goes.
Same as Nathaniel.
We'll need to repair the wall
after Adam Ondra destroys everything!
That's some performance from Adam
couldn't quite find the top.
He realized he made a mistake
half a second before he started to fall.
1 FUJII KOKORO 2 ONDRA ADAM 3 NARASAKI MEICHI
4 MAWEM BASSA 5 HOJER JAN 6 PAN YUFEI
Silver medalist. Representing Czech Republic,
Adam Ondra.
That was really like the most stressful week of my life.
Gutted about it because I've really tested
how I could deal with the pressure
for the next year on the Olympics itself.
For most of the others, maybe it was a dream
to make it to the Olympics whereas, like,
I felt like, for me, it's a duty.
I think, who is maybe, like a dark horse
for the next year in the Olympics
is Alberto Ginés for Spain, who just turned 17
and definitely has a bright future.
It's a big surprise, I wasn't expecting it.
As Japan already has two spots for the Olympics,
they can't qualify more competitors.
Two Japanese in the final means
the other climbers
qualify automatically.
Our goal will be, as always,
to do our work, and for us that means
going to Tokyo,
doing as much as possible to be in the best condition.
To go to the Olympics with my brother
is exceptional.
We've talked about it
for two years.
-We've done it. -It's beautiful.
The Olympics represent
the pinnacle of athletic achievement.
NATHANIEL IS ALSO QUALIFIED FOR TOKYO 2020
In all of the other facets of climbing,
I've only begun to explore
so, I think that it's something that will keep me occupied,
and more importantly fulfilled for the rest of my life.