Magnus Midtbø on if Toby Roberts Is the World's Best Climber?

[@jjclaws]

Glad Magnus has the balls to call it. The amount of money generate by the event through tv deals around the world along with ticket deals and advertisement and then to have the nerve not to pay the athletes that the event is showcasing is utter bollocks. To then cock block the athlete sponsors from name dropping on their own respective platforms is a joke!

[@theoneandonlyAeth]

The IOC leaves it up to the members to pay medalists, so each country's olympic committee decides the payout for that country. It's wonky for sure and it differs from the UK paying $0 for any medal to Hong Kong paying more than $750k for a gold medal. So Tony Roberts got nothing, had Adam Ondra won gold he'd have gotten $100k.

[@jjclaws]

@@theoneandonlyAeth It’s very wonky when you just consider the event on the lower end of estimates generated $7.3 billion ($12.1 B higher end) and then they’re not really culpable for any of the athlete prize money directly.

[@troelspedersen1887]

I don't underatand why you think it is a problem they don't the athletes. As an athlete you could always choose not to compete at the olympics. They do it for a crazy experience and to achieve a dream.

[@troelspedersen1887]

​@@jjclawsyou do know IOC sends money to support athletes through the national movements?

[@jjclaws]

@troelspedersen1987 I know that the IOC doesn’t give prize money to the individual athletes and I think that is the main point. The event generates billions in revenue for the IOC and then it is on the individual countries that the athletes compete for to decide on whether they’re going to give them anything in the event they medal. Doesn’t seem quite right when you look at most other sporting events and how the prizes structured. Thinking something like the ATP tour or PGA for example.

[@Manxkaffee]

Just an anectode from my circle. I know two people who never climbed before, but watched the Olympics and thought it was cool, so they just came climbing with us to try it out. They are not regulars but they will come from time to time. They treat it like most people do bowling if I would have to compare it to something. I also randomly had smaltalk with a person and when we talked about our hobbies she was also like "oh yeah, I've seen a bit of it at the Olympics, there was that Slovenian woman that was very strong right?". So it definitely gets some eyes on the sport, even if it is mostly very casual.

[@namyak-bf9od]

comparing it to bowling is a very good analogy for non-regulars

[@kevedwards]

I didn’t realise it possible to try climbing and not instantly become addicted 😂 Bowling is a great analogy though and you can definitely see that mindset more and more.

[@BrumbleJumble]

i am so excited for Toby, sorato, and the group of competition climbers destroying the comps right now to start destroying outdoor routes as well. We are already kinda seeing this happen with Will Bosi and I feel pretty confident in saying this group will put down the first 10a at some point

[@niklastretyak9363]

yeah thats kinda optimistic, no? we dont even have a 9c+, right? ignoring silence (because adam ondra was just a very weird and different kind of beast then the other climbers at that time) the amount of time that was spent in only 9b and 9b+ grades was like a decade if i am not wrong. the next step from 9c to 10a is gonna even bigger. I mean I hope you are right, but i dont think so

[@BrumbleJumble]

@@niklastretyak9363 yeah it’s super optimistic but they are so young and sending insanely hard. I’m just hopeful

[@MarkS-fc7ls]

@@niklastretyak9363ignoring Ondra? He’s the best!! These kids can’t even crack climb, lol. And I think it will come out that Silence is actually a 9C+

[@alexantone5532]

@@MarkS-fc7lsnah there’s no shot silence is 9c+

[@MarkS-fc7ls]

@@alexantone5532 because you would know

[@noone-ld7pt]

The International Olympic Committee is completely archaic at this point: 1. They surpress creators who make the most popular content for their respective sports which to many fans is what makes the entire process of following enjoyable 2. They ban individual sponsors which for most professional athletes is the only reason why they even get to be fulltime athletes in the first place 3. They've shown themselves to be extremely incompetent at actually organizing sport competitions: i.e. how surfing was not in a wave pool resulting in basically no surfing because of weather, denying that climbing should have 3 separate and distinct medals, introducing break-dancing as a sport which is just a completely subjective expression art, making fundamental changes to a 100+ year old dicipline Judo where you can't touch the legs because they thought it was too similar to wrestling even though rules and gear is fundamentally different. Point nr 3 goes on and on. The only reason why they have this much power is because of it's exclusivity. But I don't think they will for long if they continue alienating fans, creators, athletes and sponsors and virtually every single interested party. We've seen it again and again, when an organization overeaches and pisses off enough people the tide begins to turn. I believe that now that we know how the ICC media strategy works content creators will have 4 years to plan how to get around it for LA 28, and sponsors will do the same, hopefully to the benefit of the athletes and fans.

[@nonyornats6218]

The IOC are useless, but using ‘not putting the surfing in a wave pool’ as a reason why is completely wrong. No one in the surfing community wants to watch a comp in a 3ft wave pool instead of teahupoo

[@mombyby]

Just wanted to say, I’m 35 years old and I started climbing this August after watching the Olympics. I’m rubbish at it but I’m very happy to say the Olympics got at least one extra person into the sport.

[@boogaloo4640]

I think many people assumed that Magnus held the Toby video back so he could use 'Olympic champion' in the title. I know the Olympics is little more than a vast money making exercise these days but I hadn't realised they had such tight control over what people do on social media. How is that even allowed?

[@swbaker8]

contracts

[@boogaloo4640]

@@swbaker8 Contracts with who though? The Olympics can't get every content creator on the planet to sign something saying they won't mention the Olympics within a certain timeframe. How would that be possible?

[@JJ-it3iq]

@@boogaloo4640Olympics owns the copyright on anything Olympics related and they are very strict at enforcing those during the Olympic games.

[@swbaker8]

@@boogaloo4640 National teams, and by extension the athletes who sign contracts to outline expectations for membership on a national team, are all involved in agreements with the IOC.

[@boogaloo4640]

@@swbaker8 Sure but that doesn't explain why Magnus couldn't upload his video

[@pavolk]

Where is the outdoor crag in the ad break? It looks like sandstone. Somewhere in the US?

[@thestruggleclimbingshow]

Red River Gorge(ous). Route called The Force, which has been my big proj for the past year. Stunning rock!

[@pavolk]

@@thestruggleclimbingshow it looks beautiful, very similar to Czech sandstone. Have you ever climbed there, and are the ethics in RRG similar (minimal bolting, textile protection, no chalk)?

[@ryandevlin5555]

@@pavolkI haven’t been there but I’d love to some day. The videos Adam Ondra has shared look awesome. At the Red the bolting is quite safe and friendly, and fortunately chalk is allowed (it’s often very warm and humid there, tho we’re about to hit peak fall temps!)

[@pavolk]

@@ryandevlin5555 It's a remarkable environment and climbing culture. Are there any good books or other resources about the history and development of climbing in the Red River Gorge? I ask because I have a writing project about Czech sandstone and want to learn more about the climbing scenes of geologically similar areas, to compare/contrast. Would love to climb in the RRG one day myself too, of course.

[@ryandevlin5555]

@@pavolk I read a book not too long ago called “Rock Climbing in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge“ that went pretty deep into the geology, history, development, etc. It’s pretty nerdy stuff, but might be what you are looking for!

[@6CDH]

with liquid chalk are you only using only that to climb or is the liquid a base layer and then stack loose chalk on top? :)

[@Mark3747]

Normally only use the liquid chalk

[@thestruggleclimbingshow]

If I’m climbing a long route outside, I use the liquid as a base and then chalk up with regular chalk on route as needed. The need to chalk up is less frequent, which saves some time and energy. I love the combo.

[@androgynousmaggot9389]

It's a shame how the popularity caused by the Olympics is pushing sport climbing towards a more "exhibition style" and not only in bouldering, but in lead too! Watching old comps and especially Japanese comps (I'm a huge fan of their style) all problems were technique based, a powerful, a slab and one coordination! Now all problems are with massive lache coordination dynos! A Japanese setter said how, since their national championship is also a selection for national team, they need to set "ifsc looking" problems, he inadvertently admitted how they set reachy moves for the girls, because that is the standard and if they can't manage the national route they will not be able to climb international routes! It's all about the spectacle now and less about actual climbing prowess! And let's not even talk about compensation! Since only the finalists get paid a ridiculously small amount considering the expenses those athletes have! So without sponsors, they couldn't compete, and only the best get good sponsorship...

[@wiktorz8524]

Wow I didn't know Olimpics sucks that much. That's awful

[@lguy8476]

Yeah you have to pay to watch it, etc. It's very cash grabby

[@Farynt]

Isn't the average world cup more competitive and harder to win than the olympics? There's more people competing in a world cup and there's no one from each country thing. I get that the olympics is high stakes and a crazy thing to win, but surely the best comp climber is just the one that wins the most world cups.

[@Limonade33]

Does it matter that much if the Olympics has the top 20 combined athletes (minus a couple of exceptions from Japan/France)? Remove the bottom 60 climbers and the podium would still be similar. But if we go by your logic, career wise, Jakob would have the most golds (I think). For the 2023 season that would be Sorato, and for 2024, Toby and Sorato are tied with 2 golds each.

[@Farynt]

@Limonade33 all i really meant is that it doesn't make sense to call someone the best climber in the world based on one competition, no matter if it's the olympics or just a world cup.

[@MS-fg8qo]

Has Toby climbed a 9b+ yet?

[@colemantrebor6574]

He was in Spain working on Perfecto Mundo, didn't get it done but I think he made some great progress and will be back for it.

[@noone-ld7pt]

As far as I know he's not "even" climbed 9b yet, there was a pretty recent blog about him climbing his first 9a+ (5.15a). But ofcourse he has immense talent and already has the pure strength so it is probably just a matter of whether or not he chooses to prioritize it.

[@ΧρήστοςΚίτσιος-φ9λ]

i kind of like how "decomercialized" olympics are too though

[@andrew8445]

What a stupid question to ask the wrong person haha

[@thestruggleclimbingshow]

Magnus had just climbed with Toby, was at the Olympics, has had a long career in comps and on rock, and has climbed with many of the top climbers in the world across various disciplines. His perspective objectively has value whether you personally agree with it or not.

[@jerryshine3106]

He's certainly one of the thinnest.

[@ladian5475]

That boy is jacked gtfo

[@chasingfelix3609]

@@ladian5475??? Jacked? 😂

[@colemantrebor6574]

@@jerryshine3106 That man is jacked gtfo

[@otty4000]

@@ladian5475jacked means something. Walk into any climbing gym and you can find 15 people more jacked them him, are they likely stronger than him, no, are they leaner than him, no but they jacked. He is cut, borderline shredded and very strong muscles for their small size. A jacked climber isnt a peak climber.

[@stretch8390]

Its obviously a touchy topic in climbing communities but a pang of concern did pop up when he seemed sunken in the cheeks and eyes leading up to the Olympics.