Heat, skin and the "prison": so feverish Megos and Hojer the premiere counter - kicker

Since ten days, the German sport climbers Alex Megos and Jan Hojer are now in Tokyo. The duo, accompanied by national coach Urs Stöcker as well as Physio Martin Klagter and sports director Martin Veith, is likely to complete the longest preparation on site, apart from domestic athletes - many of the 40 Olympions and Olympicones arrived at the end of this week to be for competitions, Starting the next Tuesday to prepare.

Megos: No good experience with heat and moisture

The calculus was clear: among the extremely hot and above all moist climatic conditions, the DAV team wanted to acclimatize accordingly. "The first days were not easy for me with the acclimatization," says Megos in a digital press conference from a Toky of Hotel Room and called himself as "type, which is not very well realized in competitions under heat conditions so far." Specifically, these were two World Cups in 2019 in China (Wuijang, Chongqing), where he clearly missed the collection of the semi-final.

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It is clearly about "skin leaning", says Hojer and says that the boulder under these conditions just not to need too many attempts. As you use the different boulder problems - four pieces in four minutes - with Olympia, so it is also a matter of experience and in this regard, Megos hopes on a learning effect since 2019 in the sultry-called China. "I often need a second or third attempt, especially for bouldering, where it goes about body coordination," reports Megos. "In principle, I better conclude with competitions in which it is cold - but the cold does not exist here."

I often need a second or third attempt, especially for bouldering, where it is about body coordination.

Alex Megos

Conditions "world class" and the frustration of the heaviest boulder

Four hours, the respective teams for their training slots get into air-conditioned halls, where they get in the speed, bouldering and lead the finishing touch for the Olympic Showdown. The conditions on site are "perfect," says Hojer - and Megos smils that "they still have made the hardest categories in any Boulderhalle and almost never had an order with the second singles. Since this maugal success rate for the 27-year-old Erlanger never occurs, he refers to the conditions simply as a "world class".

It was all the more important for the two Dav-Olymposions that they were allowed to the competition wall on Thursday for the first time. Outside, on the fresh air in the Aomi Urban Sports Venue. Hojer's emotional situation After the first lead route, the 29-year-old Cologne shared with an equally powerful and fat grin.

Route construction and the nerves: the competition as a wonder bag

The first units at the Olympic competition wall. IFSC

As it runs from Tuesday, a wonder bag remains. None of the 20 climbers and 20 climbers can assess what is in it. Too much depends on the route construction, from the day form and above all from the nerves. Because it is clear: At the Olympic Premiere of Sport Climbing, this newcomer is particularly eyed in the world of five rings.

The pressure for pot favorites such as Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic, the Japanese Tomoa Narasaki or Jakob Schubert from Austria at the men as well as Janja Garnbret (Slovenia) or the Japanese Akiyo Noguchi in the ladies is immensely and increases the fault in all three disciplines. A mistake or a slippery occurs the classification until the last climbing train is powerful, so that above all an extremely exciting competition is to be expected.

Self-confidence is also available at the two DAV climbers. "I am able to land in the front half in all three disciplines - also in the speed," says Hojer and is therefore "without abdominal pain in the competition, otherwise you would have done something in the preparation".

I am able to land in the front half in all three disciplines - also in the speed.

Jan Hojer

Megos, however, does not make a secret that he will tear little when climbing. "If it's going well with everyone else, then I'll last. In that sense, I reject myself relaxed and wait for other people to make mistakes and I do not land on the last place," he describes his pace skills at the 15- Meter wall without a towel, but the speed climbing calls "a beautiful warm-up exercise for the boulder".

Discharge from the "prison" on Saturday

On Saturday, the next section begins when the team moves to the Olympic Village. Then the "prison", as national coach Urs Stöcker Scherzfisch called the first phase of the stay. "Of course, there are no lattice bars in front of the windows, but we are sitting in our hotel rooms, look a hundred meters down the window and see all that, where we could still move carefree two years ago," said the Swiss. In the village then they meet at least other athlete, because the previous points of contact with the Japanese population amounted to two drivers and three waiters, as Megos reports. BST ## Garnbret & Co.: These 20 women climb in Tokyo for gold