The first day of Sport Climbing competition kicked off this morning at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The venue in Le Bourget welcomed an energetic crowd of roughly 6,000 spectators for two rounds of Sport Climbing: Men’s Combined: Semifinal (Boulder) and Women’s Speed: Qualification.

Duffy and Grupper Finish 11th and 18th in Men’s Combined: Semifinal (Boulder)

Among the 20 men representing 15 National Olympic Committees in the Boulder round were Colin Duffy and Jesse Grupper. Duffy stepped into the Olympic Field of Play for the second time, following his participation in Tokyo three years ago, while Grupper made his Olympic debut. It proved to be a tough round, with only six of the 20 athletes topping a boulder (which awards up to 25 points).

Duffy reached the 10 hold on three (3) boulders and the 5 hold on one (1) boulder, earning him 33.8 points after deductions for attempts. That landed him in 11th place. Meanwhile, Grupper reached the 10 hold on one (1) boulder and the 5 hold on two (2) boulders, earning him 18.9 points. That landed him in 18th place.

Both men expressed frustration after the Boulder round, but also excitement and optimism for the Lead round, which they consider their specialty. The Men’s Combined: Semifinal (Lead) will take place on Wednesday, August 7 – scores from Boulder and Lead will be combined to determine the eight (8) climbers that advance to finals.

Hunt Advances and Sets Pan American Record, Kelly Sets “PR PR” in Women’s Speed: Qualification

Stepping up to the plate below the 15-meter speed wall were 14 women representing 9 National Olympic Committees. The athletes began with a seeding heat, establishing ranking based on fastest times. Records fell, with Emma Hunt briefly setting a new Olympic Record of 6.36 seconds, only to have Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw beat it with a new World Record of 6.06 seconds.

Hunt still had plenty to celebrate during the seeding heat – 6.36 seconds is a new Pan American Women’s Speed record and her personal best at an international competition.

Meanwhile, Piper Kelly had her own breakthrough. During her first race in the seeding heat, she hit the buzzer at 7.39 seconds. That’s what Kelly calls a PR PR, a “post rupture personal record,” which is something she’s been chasing ever since rupturing a pulley in her finger a few months ago.

Moving to the elimination heat, Hunt found herself racing France’s Manon Lebon, but finished with a time of 6.38 seconds, beating Lebon’s time of 7.07 seconds. After the race, the two turned to the crowd and held hands, celebrating the moment. Hunt’s win secured her spot at the quarterfinals, which will happen on Wednesday, August 7.

Kelly raced against Indonesia’s Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, but a slip cost her that race, ultimately eliminating her from the round.

Tomorrow, August 6, the Games will welcome Team USA’s Natalia Grossman, Brooke Raboutou, Zach Hammer, and Sam Watson to the stage for Women’s Combined: Semifinal (Boulder) and Men’s Speed: Qualification.

You can watch Sport Climbing live (or on-demand at any time after the events) on TeamUSA.com, the NBC Olympics app, and Peacock. Up-to-date schedules, as well as live results, will be available on Olympics.com.