Adventure & goals: South Tyrol's climbing star aims high

In the course of the performance of the Boulder World Cup in Brixen , which takes place from June 10th to 12th SportNews took the opportunity to chat with Piccolruaz. The 26-year-old from Val Gardena, who lives in Innsbruck and trains there with his colleagues from the Austrian national team, achieved 15th place at the Olympics in Beijing and is one of the world's top sport climbers.

SportNews spoke to Michael Piccolruaz about...

...this year's World Cup goals: “To get into the semi-finals of the top 20 more often and more consistently. The density is getting better every year. 50 athletes can make it to the semi-finals. It always depends on the bouldering facility. This requires luck. In the semi-finals, anything is usually possible - including reaching the final (the best 6 make it to the final; Note d. Red. ). "

...Olympics 2021: “On site I was dissatisfied with 15th place because there was little left for the finale. If I had managed one or two more holds in the lead or bouldering, it would have been enough for the final. The disappointment was very great. In retrospect, it was a cool experience and I can't blame myself much for climbing. I delivered more or less what I was capable of.”

Michael Piccolruaz at the Tokyo Olympics. © APA/afp / MOHD RASFAN

...the audience interest: “Sport climbing has already been confirmed as a fixed discipline for the next two Olympics. I think it will be well received because the sport is simply spectacular. But we athletes often have to suffer when the organizers want to make it too spectacular and too interesting for television. Be it in terms of route construction itself or the format of how everything should work. That’s just changing the sport.”

...the energy of the audience: “The audience gives you a lot of energy. If you go to the top (highest point on the route; Note d. Red. ) comes up and 3.000 people are shouting behind you, that's pretty cool. I especially had goosebumps once at a World Cup in Munich. I was one of the first to make it to the top in the semifinals. Over 4.000 spectators then completely freaked out – in a positive sense, of course.”

...the main goals for the next few years: “Of course qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The World Cups in 2023 already count towards Olympic qualification. This will then take place at the beginning of 2024. There are still only 20 starting places at the Olympics. That's why it will be very difficult to qualify again. In the future there will be two Olympic disciplines: firstly bouldering/lead (the results will be added together) and secondly speed climbing. My favorite discipline is bouldering. That’s why I will concentrate on the first discipline.”

...life as a climbing professional: “I am very lucky to be with the Fiamme Oro sports group. This enables me to pursue this sport as a career. Otherwise, the financial resources in sport climbing are still relatively low despite the increased spectator interest. It's difficult to live off sponsors alone. Then you really have to be one of the best in the world. As the sport continues to grow and is now an Olympic sport, I hope that more sponsors will show interest in the future. The greater media attention will slowly but surely bring more money into the sport.”

“You can get around all over the world.” Michael Piccolruz

...the advantages of being a climbing professional: “You can get around all over the world. I've been to Japan and China several times because there were a lot of competitions there. But it's not just the competitions and the entire culture of the countries that are interesting. For example, because I travel so much, I also get the opportunity to climb rocks in many places around the world. That motivates me even more.”

...his favorite destinations: “It was definitely South Africa for climbing. There's a bouldering hotspot 3 hours north of Cape Town that's practically in the middle of nowhere. There are the perfect sunstone blocks. You can train perfectly on such rocks and it’s incredibly fun.”

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Adventure & goals: South Tyrol's climbing star aims high

Last year, Michael Piccolruaz held the South Tyrolean flag high at the Olympic premiere for sport climbing. We took a closer look at the Val Gardena region.

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