Singapore can produce world-class climbers, says South Korean great Kim Ja-in

SINGAPORE – With a decorated career that includes 31 World Cup wins, 14 Asian titles and two World Championships since 2004, Kim Ja-in certainly knows what it takes to be successful on the world stage in sport climbing.

And the South Korean climbing legend believes that Singapore has the potential to produce Olympic-calibre climbers.

The 36-year-old got up close and personal with about 30 local climbers on March 1 as she did a demonstration climb and a meet-and-greet with the community at Project Send, a bouldering gym at the Esplanade.

The renowned athlete’s trip to Singapore is part of energy drink Red Bull’s Train Like A Champ challenge, an initiative seeking to encourage more Singaporeans to embrace an active lifestyle.

Speaking through a translator, Kim said: “I can see that climbing has grown more popular here even compared to last August, when I came here for the first time.

“Singapore has lots of climbing gyms now, but more people need to look to do it as more than just a hobby and train and climb like athletes.

“I have met the youth athletes here and they have good energy and I think they have what it takes (to make it to the Olympics), but what is required is more support from the Government and also for corporate sponsors to get involved and fund their dreams.”

In climbing, there are three disciplines: speed, boulder and lead. At Tokyo 2020, where climbing made its Olympic debut, all three were combined into a single event.

At Paris 2024,

speed climbing – a one-on-one elimination competition up a 15-metre wall – was contested separately, while boulder and lead remained combined.

In bouldering, athletes climb 4.5-metre walls without ropes in a limited time frame and in the fewest attempts possible. In the lead category, athletes climb a 15-metre wall as high as they can in six minutes without having seen the route before.

Singapore’s climbing scene has experienced significant growth over the past few years. There are now more than 35 climbing gyms here, with most of them within shopping malls.

In 2023, the Singapore Sport Climbing and Mountaineering Federation

set a target of having a Singaporean at the Olympics by Brisbane 2032.

While Singapore may lack outdoor climbing spots, Kim believes that does not really matter.

She added: “What is much more important is the coaching for the athletes and the quality of the indoor climbing gyms and how well and challenging the route setting is.”

Route setting refers to the process of creating climbing routes on a wall.

Climbing is also a sport that suits Asians, who are smaller in build.

Kim is 1.53m, while Slovenian Janja Garnbret, who became the first female Olympic champion in climbing in Tokyo and won the combined gold in Paris, is 1.64m.

Closer to home, Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo, who won men’s speed climbing at Paris 2024 to give his country its first Olympic gold in a sport other than badminton, is 1.62m.

Climbing technique is the key, something that Xu Liting, a veteran of the local climbing scene, noted from Kim’s demonstration climb.

Xu, 36, who has represented Singapore in several competitions, said: “Kim shows that climbing is not just about physical strength but about your technique as well.

“During her demonstration, she showed how she can use her flexibility to solve the problems on the wall. She and other Asians are some of the best in the world and it gives Singaporeans hope that we can perform well on the world stage one day.”

Kim said having a climber who ascends to the world stage can be a game changer for the sport here.

For Kim, before she made her World Cup debut more than 20 years ago, it was compatriot Go Mi-young who had encouraged her to pick up the sport during a visit to her high school.

Go, who died in a mountaineering accident in 2009, had long been the only South Korean at the highest level at that time and paved the way for others. In a previous interview, Kim said Goh had made her “who I am now and that’s why I have a responsibility to lead the climbing scene in Korea”.

Encouraging the youth in attendance, Kim, who said she could still chase a maiden Olympic appearance at Los Angeles 2028, said: “There is no world-class climber in Singapore now but the young kids who are in the sport have to dream to be the first person to get in the World Cup.

“As long as there is proper support for the young climbers, then there’s a chance to reach the world stage one day.”