IWGA Athlete of the Month: Adam Ondra (Cze)
Congratulations to Adam Ondra, IWGA Athlete of the Month for August 2014. The 21-year-old Czech climber from Brno was crowned IFSC Boulder World Champion on August 23, 2014 in Munich. He was the only climber to top all four problems in the finals.
Adam Ondra is a phenomenon: both, in competition climbing on artificial holds and outdoors on real rock. In 2014, as he began university, Ondra decided to focus on competition climbing, after two years of travelling the world climbing on real rock.
In addition to his recent World Championships win, Ondra placed first in the IFSC Lead World Cup in Imst, Austria on August 2, 2014 and second in the IFSC Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria on May 17, 2014.
Ondra has been climbing since he was four, encouraged by his parents, who share his passion for climbing. Since then his list of achievements is long: Previously, Ondra placed first in the 2011 combined World Championships, with a silver medal in boulder and a bronze in lead. In 2012, Ondra placed second in the Lead World Championships, and from 2007-2009, was the Youth World Champion in lead.
On real rock, Ondra thrives, and has set many records for climbing the most difficult routes in the world. On October 4, 2012, Ondra mastered probably the most difficult route in the world, found in the Hanshelleren Cave in Flatanger (Norway). He called it: “The Change.” It is the first route to receive a proposed grade of 9b+ The route remains unrepeated by any other climber.
Learn more about Adam Ondra on The World Games Channel
Photography ©Petr Pavlicek, ©Vojtech Vrzba, ©Adam Ondra's Archive
