Compared to 25 years ago, the climbing sport itself has changed dramatically. From a rock climbing modification to a separation in three independent disciplines, the requirements to athletes and trainers increased rapidly. To ensure continuous improvement of the sport itself, the usage of measurement and sensor technology is unavoidable. Especially in the field of the discipline speed climbing, which will be performed as a single discipline at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, the current state of the art of movement analysis only consists of video analysis and the benefit of the experience of trainers. Therefore, this paper presents a novel method, which supports trainers and athletes and enables analysis of motion sequences and techniques. Prerecorded video footage is combined with existing feature and human body keypoint detection algorithms and standardized boundary conditions. Therefore, several image processing steps are necessary to convert the recorded movement of different speed climbing athletes to significant parameters for detailed analysis. By studying climbing trials of professional athletes and the used techniques in different sections of the speed climbing wall, the aim among others is to get comparable results and detect mistakes. As a conclusion, the presented method enables powerful analysis of speed climbing training and competition and serves with the aid of a user-friendly designed interface as a support for trainers and athletes for the evaluation of motion sequences.

Aims: To compare the somatic characteristics and somatotypes of elite bouldering athletes competing in World Cups and World Championships with national-level climbers and general adult population norms, and to identify anthropometric characteristics that differentiate performance levels in competitive climbing and distinguish climbers from the general adult population.Materials and methods: Anthropometric data were measured according to the ISAK protocol and somatotype was determined using the Heath-Carter method. Tissue composition and body proportions were examined using measurements of skinfolds, circumferences, widths and indices such as Ape Index and Arm Index. Thirty-four men participated in the study: 9 IFSC-ranked international level athletes and 25 national athletes. Statistical analysis used the Shapiro-Wilk test to assess the normality of the distribution, the Student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney U test to compare groups, LASSO regression to identify significant characteristics and Spearman’s correlation coefficient to examine correlations between variables.Results: International climbers demonstrated a significantly lower body fat percentage (14.4±2.00%) compared to national athletes (17.56±2.16%) and the general adult population (18.4±2.9%). Thinner skinfolds and smaller thigh and arm girths were found among the higher level climbers. Body proportions were more favorable in international athletes, who showed higher Ape (1.06 ± 0.02) and Arm Index values (46.22 ± 1.26) compared to national-level competitors (1.03 ± 0.03 and 44.98 ± 1.45, respectively). No significant differences were observed in somatotype profiles.Conclusions: International climbers differ from national athletes by having higher muscle mass, lower body fat, smaller limb girths, and shorter stature. The benefits of these characteristics and the influence of selection processes remain unclear. Notably, the low body fat in elite climbers likely reflects training adaptations rather than calorie restriction.

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of Speed Climbing athletes by examining motion parameters critical to elite performance. As such, several key values are extracted from about 900 competition recordings in order to generate a dataset for the identification of patterns in athletes’ technique and efficiency. A CNN-based framework is used to automate the detection of human keypoints and features, enabling a large-scale evaluation of climbing dynamics. The results revealed significant variations in performance for single sections of the wall, particularly in relation to start reaction times (with differences of up to 0.27 s) and increased split times the closer the athletes are to the end of the Speed Climbing wall (from 0.39 s to 0.45 s). In addition, a more detailed examination of the movement sequences was carried out by analyzing the velocity trajectories of hands and feet. The results showed that coordinated and harmonic movements, especially of the lower limbs, correlate strongly with the performance outcome. To ensure an individualized view of the data points, a comparison was made between multiple athletes, revealing insights into the influence of individual biomechanics on the efficiency of movements. The findings provide both trainers and athletes with interesting insights in relation to tailoring training methods by including split time benchmarks and limb coordination.

Aim: This study aimed to: (a) assess the relationships between climbing performance and finger and shoulder girdle muscle endurance; and (b) provide evidence on the validity of the specialized exercise tests used for the purpose.Materials and methods: 28 male sport climbers (climbing ability 23 ± 2.43 IRCRA scale) performed four tests muscle failure, including two-finger hang tests (using 2.5 and 4 cm holds) and two variants of pull-up exercises (classical pull-ups and a combination of dynamic and isometric actions – the so-called Edlinger). Climbing performance and test results were subjected to correlation, taxonomic and regression analysis.Results: The correlations between the results from all tests and climbing performance were notably strong (r between 0.54 and 0.61) and statistically significant (p<0.05). The taxonomic analysis indicated that the two variants of each test type reflect two different latent variables 2.5 cm and 4 cm finger hang durations were highly correlated (r=0.76,p<0.01). A similar correlation was found between the results from the pull-up tests (r=0.72,p<0.01). Thus, the finger hang and pull-up test results were determined to a high extent (43% and 49%, respectively) by factors that cannot be assessed when only one test of each type is used. The regression model of the two-finger tests allowed individual endurance profiles to be assessed.Conclusions: The muscular endurance of the elbow flexors and shoulder girdle muscles predicts climbing performance within the specific sport level studied to a comparable degree as finger flexor endurance.The use of two variants of a test intended to assess one physical ability provided important details on a climber’s fitness.

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of Speed Climbing athletes by examining motion parameters critical to elite performance. Thereby, several key values are extracted from about 900 competition recordings to generate a dataset for the identification of patterns in athletes’ technique and efficiency. A CNN-based framework is used to automate detection of human keypoints and feature, enabling large-scale evaluation of climbing dynamics. The results revealed significant variations of performance in single sections of the wall, particularly in start reaction times (up-to 0.27 s differences) and increased split times the closer the athletes get to the end of the Speed Climbing wall (from 0.39 s to 0.45 s). In addition, a more detailed examination of the movement sequences was carried out by analyzing the velocity trajectories of hands and feet. The results showed that coordinated and harmonic movements, especially of the lower limbs, correlate strongly with the performance outcome. To ensure an individualized view of the data points, a comparison was made between multiple athletes, revealing insights into the influence of individual biomechanics on the efficiency of movements. The findings provide trainers as well as athletes with interesting insights for tailoring training methods by including split time benchmarks and limb coordination.