'Medal Challenge'Seo Chae-hyun, 28.9 points in the bouldering final'...a turnaround challenge in the lead

Aug 10, 2024

'Spider Girl'Seo Chae-hyun (21) finished bouldering at the bottom.

Seo Chae-hyun received a point in the women's bouldering final of the 2024 Paris Olympics Sports Climbing Combine (bouldering + lead) held at Le Bourget Sports Climbing in Paris, France on the 10th (Korea time). It's on top. Seo Chae-hyun, who made it to the finals for the second consecutive time following the last Tokyo Games, aims for a come-from-behind turnaround in the lead. Combine determines medal rankings by summing the scores of lead and bouldering scores (out of 200).

Seo Chae-hyun wrote a drama earlier in the semi-final. He ranked 13th with 44.2 points in the semifinal of bouldering on the 6th. The gap with eighth place, which can reach the final, was 19.8 points. Bouldering is an event in which various artificial structures installed on a 4.5-meter-high rock wall must be passed within a set time. There are a total of 4 questions, and you need to grab certain holds that are twisted like puzzles to score points. Each time the number of attempts for each hold increases, 0.1 points are deducted. Creativity to solve problems is as important as flexibility and muscle strength. Seo Chae-hyun, who is weak in bouldering, was important to save as much as possible. In the second question, he finished the game with 44.2 points, including a complete victory at the second time. Although she did not completely finish any questions at the last Tokyo Games, Seo Chae-hyun showed her improvement. Seo Chae-hyun "It wasn't as bad as I thought. You can turn it over from the lead."

The lead semifinal match was held on the 8th. Seo Chae-hyun is a self-proclaimed "Lead Empress". Lead is an event in which you have to grab a hold installed on a 15-meter-high rock wall and climb as high as possible within six minutes. He surprised the world upon his adult stage debut in 2019. He conquered the World Cup stage three months after his debut. He ranked No. 1 in the 2019 International Sports Climbing Federation (IFSC) World Cup rankings in the women's lead category. Seo Chae-hyun is currently ranked third in the IFSC world ranking, 18th in bouldering, and 4th in the combine.

The lead game has begun. Seo made her 13th appearance. I was full of confidence. He played the game with a bright expression on his face. The pace was fast, but he didn't lose his composure. He reached the 30-point mark in just over two minutes. Seo Chae-hyun tried to finish the race while pushing out, but ended the challenge at 72.1 points. He ranked first among the 13 players and jumped to the final third place in a short period of time. Now there are eight remaining players, and Seo Chae-hyun watched the other players' performances with nervousness. No. 15 runner Miho Nonaka (Japan) and No. 16 runner Grossman Natalia (USA) fell early in succession. Seo Chae-hyun made it to the finals regardless of the results of the remaining four. On this day, Seo Chae-hyun scored 72.4 points in the lead semifinal. He finished eighth with a total of 116.3 points and reached the final.

In the run-off, all the semi-final records are erased and a fresh start is made from the ground up. Again, the key was bouldering. The point was how close the gap with the top in bouldering. Seo Chae-hyun, the first runner of the combine in the final, played with a bright expression. In the first question, Seo Chae-hyun conquered up to a 10-point hold. He had a complete light in front of him, but he couldn't hold a 25-point hold even after two attempts. 9.5 points. Excluding Seo Chae-hyun and Ayori (Japan), six players made it to the top.

I struggled more in the second question. He also had a hard time catching a five-point hold. I tried my best to conquer the 10-point hold, but I couldn't achieve it in the end. It was a pity that I caught it at the last attempt but couldn't hold on. He received the lowest score of 4.8 out of eight players.

The third problem boasted the heinous difficulty. Britain's Erin McNice and France's Orien Vertonghen, who had previously succeeded in finishing the game twice, did not even catch a five-point hold at all. Still, Seo Chae-hyun made a successful start and received 4.8 points. Mori, who was struggling, showed off his success in finishing the race here. In the last question, Seo Chae-hyun scored 9.8 points, conquering a 10-point hold. Seo Chae-hyun was the first to finish without completing any of the four questions. Regardless of the results of the other players, Seo finished the bouldering with 28.9 points and eighth among eight players.

There is still a chance. Another dramatic turnaround is possible if you get a high score in the lead. Seo Chae-hyun will play in the lead final at 7:35 p.m. on the 10th.

vanbasten@sportschosun.com