Buoyed by large cheering section, Olympic champ Ginés finishes top in Boulder & Lead semi-final at OQS Budapest
Around 25 of Alberto Ginés López’s closest friends and family have travelled from Spain to support the reigning Olympic champion in the Hungarian capital, and their loud chants of "Alberto, Alberto" kept the young Spaniard going.
Sport Climbing
A chant of “Alberto, Alberto” sounded out across the Ludovika Campus sport climbing arena at the Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest on Saturday (22 June), the soundtrack to a day in which Alberto Ginés López reminded everyone just why he is the reigning Olympic champion.
Unlike three years ago in Tokyo when competition was conducted behind closed doors, the Spaniard has a large cheering section in the Hungarian capital – a group of 25 members of friends and family making themselves known to the locals with their good-natured support for Ginés.
Perhaps boosted by their vocal cheering, Ginés topped the men’s Boulder & Lead semi-final on Saturday with ease, nearly 10 full points clear of his nearest rival.
The morning’s Boulder session had been delayed two hours by rain, which brought some relief to a city that had been sweltering in a heatwave, but the conditions did not seem to put Ginés off as he finished third. After completing his fourth problem, as the chanting began, the 21-year-old looked over at his support crew and smiled in acknowledgement.
That support would grow even louder about two hours later. With Ginés the last man to climb the Lead wall by virtue of his top position from qualification, all eyes and voices – not just those of his friends and family – were on him.
He duly delivered, making it within three holds of the Top to earn 88.1 points in Lead for a total of 157.2, 9.3 ahead of second-placed Lee Dohyun.
“They are my family, some of them are not blood family but they are my friends for life,” he told Olympics.com afterwards about those in attendance to support him. “Most of them are from rock climbing so I don’t see them that often recently with all the competitions and everything.”
"This is the prize," says Ginés's mum Mavi
As Ginés finished his media duties after the competition, he exited the interview area to find his band of friends and family waiting for him. Many hugs and kisses followed from his parents, girlfriend, and his long-time climber friends.
Determined to make up for not being able to watch him win Olympic gold three years ago, they all made the short three-hour flight from Spain to Budapest to cheer Ginés on here.
“The friends and family, some 25 of us, are here,” his excited – and very proud – mother Mavi said in Spanish. Between them, they have rented six apartments in Budapest for the competition. “This is the prize for a lot of hard work and time.
“[In Tokyo] we couldn’t be there in person because of the pandemic, but we were all together in Madrid, the Spanish Olympic Committee prepared a stay for us and the whole family and all his friends were there to watch him. And the same people are here now.”
With Ginés having finished second at OQS Shanghai, making the final here in Budapest puts him in a fantastic position to obtain an Olympic quota for Paris 2024.
“My form, I would say, is amazing actually,” he admitted. “I’m pretty surprised as it’s been a pretty challenging season. All the hours in the gym are now paying off.”
If his trip to Paris is confirmed, those “Alberto, Alberto” chants will follow him to Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue in August.
“We’ll all be there,” said Mavi López. “All of us and more!”
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at Paris 2024 depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation. Click here to view the qualification system for each sport.
You can watch the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) in Budapest from 20 to 23 May live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices.
OQS Budapest 2024 results - Men's Boulder & Lead semi-finals - Finalists
Lead score in parenthesis
- Alberto Ginés López (ESP) 157.2 (88.1)
- Lee Dohyun (KOR) 147.9 (84.1)
- Hannes van Duysen (BEL) 144.6 (80.1)
- Yannick Flohe (GER) 141.1 (72.0)
- Sam Avezou (FRA) 139.3 (60.0)
- Mejdi Schalck (FRA) 136.7 (72.0)
- Alexander Megos (GER) 127.7 (64.1)
- Adam Ondra (CZE) 125.7 (76.1)
Full results here.