Some were reticent about the ethics of competitive climbing, and in early 1985, several leading climbers signed the Manifeste des 19 [fr], rejecting the concept.

These were annual lead climbing competitions held outdoors on natural rock surfaces and their first winners were Stefan Glowacz, Patrick Edlinger and Catherine Destivelle.

[2][3] In August 2016, the IOC announced that competition climbing would be a sport in the 2020 Summer Olympics, but that lead, boulder, and speed would be combined into a single medal event; this caused upset however it allowed the maximum number of disciplines to feature at the Olympics.

[5][6] During August 3–6, 2021, Alberto Ginés López and Janja Garnbret won the first-ever men's and women's Olympic climbing gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, in the newly created combined event consisting of all three disciplines.

[3][7] After the Tokyo Olympics, it was announced that the 2024 Paris Olympics would only combine lead climbing and bouldering into a single medal event, with speed climbing as a standalone medal event.

[9] Between rounds, the competitors are collectively given 6 minutes to inspect — but not attempt or practice — the next route.

[9][10] In contrast to lead climbing, these boulder problems are more complex, but each boulder problem can be attempted multiple times – with repeated falls – within a certain time limit (usually 5 minutes in qualifiers and 4 minutes in finals).

[9][10] As in all bouldering, the competitors do not use a rope or any climbing protection, but crash pads that are laid across the ground for safety.

[10] In addition to the top hold, "zone holds" are located at the mid-point of the problem, which if secured, earn a half point, in lieu of failing to earn a full point by "topping".

[9][10] As with competition lead climbing, the competitors cannot see each other's attempts which would help them to learn route's beta.

As sport climbing was allocated only a single medal per gender at its Olympic debut in 2020, the IFSC opted to merge lead, boulder and speed into a single format, first held at the 2017 Climbing Youth World Championships.

For the overall result, an athletes ranks in each of the three competitions were multiplied, leaving the competitor with the lowest score as the winner.

If the last hold reached is not only controlled but used to progress along the route, 0.1 points will be added to the score.

[14] In the 2024 Olympics, boulder-and-lead combined and speed climbing were held as separate events.

No one remembers who won the freakin' World Cup in 1997, but people know who put up Action Directe".

Exceptions remain, including leading French sport climber Seb Bouin, who wanted to instead focus on finding "mega lines" (a reference to Sharma's "King Lines") on outdoor crags, which he described as his sole motivation.