Biography
Born in the Czech Republic, Adam Ondra has built up a decorated career since his early competitions, winning his first World Championships medal in 2009 in lead climbing. He was a favourite for Tokyo 2020 gold, but an uncharacteristic off-day proved his undoing.
Ondra began climbing at the age of six, and by the time he was 13 he had climbed his first graded 9a route, ranking near the top end of the difficulty scale (5.14d). He also became the first person to climb 9b+ and 9c routes.
His impact on sport climbing did not go unnoticed and in 2013, at just 20-years-old, the Czech was dubbed a ‘prodigy’ and the leading climber of his generation by Rock & Ice Magazine. A flurry of gold medals followed suit as Ondra went on to demonstrate his dominance.
After winning his first medal, the World Championships would hold further success for Ondra, where he went onto win medals aplenty in every colour. He has won four World Championships titles – two in 2014, one in 2016 and more recently another in 2019. His double gold in 2014 made him the only male athlete to have won titles in both lead and bouldering disciplines in the same year.
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