No Olympic finals for Alex Megos, even with Bassa Mawem injured
Which could be a huge help for Adam Ondra in the speed round
Sport Climbing debuted at the Tokyo Olympics today, with Canadian Sean McColl climbing his way to 17th. The top-eight climbers will advance to finals on Aug. 5.
For those who don’t know, Bassa Mawem from France suffered a serious bicep injury during the lead climbing round, but because he was so strong in speed and boulder, he still advanced to the finals in seventh spot. It was believed that when he bows out due to his injury, that the ninth place Alex Megos would be allowed to compete, but that’s not the case.
John Branch of the New York Times reported that he spoke to the IFSC and said, “Just spoke to IFSC. If Bassa Mawem retires (which he has not done yet), Megos would not be inserted. Mawem would simply finish 8th, and the final would go on with seven.”
And because Mawem is the number one seed heading into the speed finals, he’s pitted against Ondra who is number eight. If Mawem can’t compete, Ondra advances to speed semifinals. He would be assured no worse than a score of 4, which would be huge in terms of his final score.
Results
Athletes Advancing to Finals:
1 – Mickael Mawem (FRA) 33.00
2 – Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) 56.00
3 – Colin Duffy (USA) 60.00
4 – Jakob Schubert (AUT) 84.00
5 – Adam Ondra (CZE) 216.00
6 – Alberto Gines Lopez (ESP) 294.00
7 – Bassa Mawem (FRA) 360.00 (TBD)
8 – Nathaniel Coleman (USA) 550.00
Official IFSC Update Aug. 4
The quota for the final round of the men’s Combined event is set out in Art. 11.2 of the rules. At the Tokyo 2020 Sport Climbing competition, the eight highest ranked athletes from the qualification round are eligible to participate in the final. Athlete substitution is possible only when an athlete is either disqualified or otherwise not ranked in the previous round. As of now, the official list of participants for the men’s Combined final at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is as follows:
1. Mickael Mawem (FRA)
2. Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
3. Colin Duffy (USA)
4. Jakob Schubert (AUT)
5. Adam Ondra (CZE)
6. Alberto Gines Lopez (ESP)
7. Bassa Mawem (FRA)
8. Nathaniel Coleman (USA)
Because the rule only includes disqualification or not ranked (whatever that means) as allowable conditions, and explicitly exclude other circumstances (including injury), Megos is not eligible to slide into the available spot in the finals.
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