In a surprising upset, Great Britain's Toby Roberts became the first sport climber to claim the Olympic gold medal in the new format of the men's bouldering/lead combined final.
His phenomenal lead climb bested that of Japan's Sorato Anraku, the heavy favorite to win. Anraku took silver after uncharacteristically falling in the lower part of the highest 10 holds, while experienced lead climber Jakob Schubert of Austria scored bronze after nearly topping the lead wall.
Anraku led the field following the boulder section of the final, but the 17-year-old Japanese climber struggled to top Boulders 3 and 4 and ultimately finished the section with 69.3 points.
American Colin Duffy followed closely behind with a score of 68.3 points, only one point away from Anraku. Duffy was the only climber who topped Boulder 4, which tested each athlete's coordination. He needed to launch himself several feet from a high hand hold to a lower foot hold while reaching for a crimp to top the boulder problem.
Roberts — who topped Boulders 1 and 3 — was the only other climber besides Anraku and Duffy to top two of the four boulder problems. These high scores set the three up with a strong advantage heading into the lead section.
Several climbers, including defending Olympic gold medalist Alberto Gines Lopez of Spain and Czechia's Adam Ondra, hoped to make up for their low boulder scores with a strong lead climb. But while Gines Lopez and Ondra earned some of the highest lead scores, their boulder scores kept them from reaching a podium position.
Duffy sat in medal contention for most of the lead section, but an unexpected fall after slight hesitation in the highest 10 holds left him in a precarious position with several skilled climbers left to go.
Schubert soon took the lead from Duffy after cleverly climbing up the wall. He nearly topped the route but slipped on the final hold, finishing with 96 points out of the possible 100 in the section (and 139.6 combined points).
"I am extremely proud that climbing is at the Olympic Games for the second time and that I have my second medal. That's something very special," Schubert said. "At the same time, I have the feeling that the boulder round frustrated me extremely and there was a lot more possible for me today."
"The big goal was gold or silver...but I just can't complain because I know how difficult it is to win an Olympic medal," Schubert added.
Then it was Roberts' turn. The 19-year-old lead specialist navigated the wall with steadiness and ease before falling at the 92.1-point mark. With his strong boulder score, Roberts was set to earn an Olympic medal with a combined score of 155.2 points.
Finally, it was up to Anraku to decide what color medal Roberts and Schubert would leave with. Anraku needed 88 points in the lead section to surpass Roberts. He started with confidence and quickly breezed through the lowest 10 holds. He was tactful, checking his grip on holds before reaching for the next.
Despite this, Anraku slightly slipped after a 180-degree maneuver in which he momentarily faced the audience to traverse to the next hold. He successfully recovered and progressed up the wall until he slipped again, falling from the hold — and off the climbing throne he was desperately trying to become the king of. His combined score of 145.4 points was 9.8 points short of Olympic gold.
"I'm sad, and I regret that I could not make the best of boulder and lead," Anraku said.
Everyone was shocked, including Roberts. He stood up from his chair with a look of disbelief as the crowd cheered on the new Olympic champion.
"I've got no words. I'm just riding on adrenaline right now, but I feel incredible," Roberts said. "[When Anraku started climbing], I already knew I had won the silver medal, so I was really happy anyway just watching him. Then [when Anraku fell] to realise that I had just become Olympic champion, I was just: wow, no words."
Men's bouldering/lead combined medalists
🥇Toby Roberts (GBR)
🥈Sorato Anraku (JPN)
🥉Jakob Schubert (AUT)