Fitness

Health: This is what it takes to excel at three of the latest Olympic sports activities

July 11, 2021

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Surfing, sport climbing and skateboarding are among the new disciplines planned for the Tokyo Olympics.

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Jill Barker • Special for Montreal Gazette The German sport climber and Olympian Jan Hojer trains in a climbing hall in Hilden in June. The sport has a mental component where climbers rate the course and choose a route that shows their strengths. Photo by THILO SCHMUELGEN /Reuters

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With the Tokyo Olympics just around the corner, we’ll be stuck in front of our TVs again and see the best athletes in the world battle for a podium. Most of the 10,000+ athletes expected in Tokyo had humble beginnings and played local sports before an extraordinary combination of talent, passion and dedication made them Olympic athletes. But not all sports develop in the same way and do not require the same type of training. That’s what it takes to get higher, faster, and stronger in three of the newest Olympic sports.

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surfing

Twenty men and 20 women from around the world will impress the judges with speed, power and tricks as they ride as many waves as possible in 30 minute heats. No Canadian made it, but you expect a combination of veterans and junior staff to show their stuff at Tsurigasaki Beach, about 100 kilometers from the main Olympic site.

Most surfers start young and spend years reading the waves and honing their tricks before signing up for local competitions. They rarely have coaches or spend time in the gym and instead travel the world in search of bigger waves and an increasingly competitive field of surfers.

According to Albie Sears, strength and conditioning coach at Surf Canada, a competitive surfer needs a strong upper body, explosive strength, and good aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Riding the wave and performing the high-speed turns and aerials necessary to score points requires balance, agility, and lower physical strength.

Don’t underestimate the energy it takes to paddle past breaking waves, let alone the paddling speed it takes to catch a wave. Then there’s the power and flow it takes to ride the wave in style and the ability to handle the rough and tumble things that happen underwater at the end of a run. A typical competitive surfer spends about 50 percent of his time paddling, 35 percent of his time waiting for a wave, six percent surfing, and eight percent other activities. But all of this can vary depending on the size of the swell, current, wave frequency and whether the waves break near the shore or further out.

Sport climbing

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At the Olympic Games in Tokyo there will be a triathlon with climbing competitions in which 20 men and 20 women will compete against each other in speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing on one day. These three different disciplines have very different energy requirements, from the six seconds it takes to climb the 15-meter wall in speed climbing to the six minutes that climbers have to do a lead course.

Climbers are known for their grip strength and tend to be smaller, with males typically under six feet tall and relatively slender at 110 to 150 pounds. The best speed climbers have explosive power, but the superior lead and bouldering athletes will win the combination. The sport also has a mental component where climbers rate the course and choose a route that shows its strengths. In terms of age, 16- and 17-year-olds can compete with athletes who are twice their age.

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According to Andrew Wilson, High Performance Director of Climbing Canada, most people have tried two or three other sports before they started climbing, although a new generation is entering the sport earlier. Most climbers prefer to spend more time with grip strength than with other forms of fitness, especially since training for three disciplines takes a lot of time and energy. But since every athlete has to take part in three competitions within a few hours and there is only a short break between the times on the wall, the general overall condition has become more important than ever.

Canadians in focus: Allanah Yip, Sean McColl

Skateboarding

Skateboarders compete against each other in one of two disciplines: street or park events. At the street event, the participants show their skills on stairs, handrails, curbs, benches, walls and slopes during two 45-second runs, including five individually rated tricks. Points are awarded based on trick difficulty, jump height, speed, originality, execution and composition.

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The park event takes place in a steep bowl with a series of curves designed to create enough speed to explode from the top. Skateboarders have 60 seconds to perform a series of high-flying tricks, which are judged on speed, difficulty, timing, and the overall flow of performance.

Most skateboarders start out in the neighborhood skate parks and perfect their tricks until they have built up enough skills and creativity to attend local events. The sport is learned at a young age, with Canada’s best female skateboarders being between 12 and 14 years old. Injuries are common as skateboarders take their skills and technique to a new level. Vancouver is Canada’s skateboarding center, closely followed by Montreal and Toronto.

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Adam Higgins, High Performance Director of the Canadian Olympic Skateboarding Team, says skateboarders come in all shapes and sizes, with the ability to create enough force to jump high and land softly is important to overall success and longevity. Most skateboarders are not fitness rats and prefer to build up sport-specific fitness in the skate park. Skills are acquired without the help of a trainer; Most skateboarders are self-taught and learn the sport by trying increasingly complex tricks, followed by equally impressive falls.

Canadians to see: Andy Anderson, Matt Berger, Micky Papa

Next week we will learn everything about table tennis, race walking and water polo.

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