Adam Ondra

Adam Ondra

Adam Ondra (Czech pronunciation: [ˈadam ˈondra]; born February 5, 1993) is a Czech professional rock climber, specializing in lead climbing, bouldering, and competition climbing. In 2013, Rock & Ice described Ondra as a prodigy and the leading climber of his generation. Ondra is the only male athlete to have won World Championship titles in both disciplines in the same year (2014) and is one of the two male athletes (alongside Sorato Anraku in 2023) to have won the World Cup series in both disciplines (lead climbing in 2009, 2015, and 2019 and bouldering in 2010).

At age 13, Ondra redpointed his first graded 9a (5.14d) sport route. Rock & Ice noted that by 2011, he was "onsighting 5.14c's by the handful", and by 2013, had "more or less repeated every hard route in the world—easily". By end 2018, Ondra had climbed 1,550 sport routes between grades 8a (5.13b) and 9c (5.15d), of which one was a 9c (5.15d), three were 9b+ (5.15c), and three were onsights of 9a (5.14d).

Ondra is the first climber to redpoint a route with a proposed grade of 9c (5.15d) (Silence, 2017), the first climber to redpoint a 9b+ (5.15c) route (Change, 2012), the first-ever to flash a 9a+ (5.15a) route (Supercrackinette, 2018), and the second ever to onsight a 9a (5.14d) route (Cabane au Canada, 2013).

Although primarily known for sport climbing, Ondra has repeated or established difficult big wall climbs, traditional climbs, and boulder problems. Because of his achievements, Ondra is often referred to as the world's strongest climber.

Climbing career

Early years

Ondra in 2009 at Imst

Ondra started climbing at the age of six; his parents are climbers, and they shared their passion with him. In 1999, at age six, in Rovinj, Croatia, Ondra climbed a 6a (5.10a) route with bolts every half meter. He quickly rose to fame, appearing in climbing magazines as his accomplishments became both more impressive and frequent:

• In 2001, (at age eight), he onsighted 7b+ (5.12c) routes. • In 2002, (at age nine), he onsighted 7c+ (5.13a) and redpointed 8a (5.13b). • In 2003, (at age ten), he onsighted 8a (5.13b). • In 2004, (at age eleven), he onsighted 8a+ (5.13c) and redpointed 8c (5.14b). • In 2005, (at age twelve), he onsighted 8b (5.13d). • In 2006, (at age thirteen), he managed to redpoint his first 9a (5.14d), Martin Krpan at Misja Pec.

Competition climbing

Adam Ondra at the IFSC Lead Worldcup Imst 2009

Adam Ondra at the IFSC Boulder Worldcup Vienna 2010

In 2007 and 2008, he won the IFSC World Youth Championship, category Youth B. In 2009, at age sixteen, Ondra competed for the first time in the Lead Climbing World Cup, finishing ahead of Spanish Patxi Usobiaga and Japanese Sachi Amma. In 2010, he won the Bouldering World Cup, beating Austrian climber Kilian Fischhuber and Tsukuru Hori from Japan, becoming the first athlete in history to win the World Cup in both disciplines (lead and bouldering).

Ondra failed to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics at the 2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships, as he was disqualified for accidentally toeing a bolt during the lead climbing portion of the combined event. However, at the Olympic qualifying event in Toulouse later that year, he managed to secure a place in the Olympic Games, despite falling ill after reaching the finals of the event.

In April 2021 Ondra won gold in the bouldering discipline at the IFSC World Cup in Meiringen, Switzerland. This marked his 20th World Cup gold medal. Ondra finished in sixth place at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the Boulder, Lead and Speed Combined and also sixth place in the 2024 Summer Olympics Boulder and Lead Combined.

Rock climbing

Ondra climbing Silence, 9c (5.15d), in 2017

During a March 2011 trip to Spain, Ondra became the second-ever person to onsight a 8c+ (5.14c) route, after Patxi Usobiaga. On October 4, 2012, Ondra redpointed Change in the Hanshelleren Cave, Flatanger Municipality, Norway, the world's first-ever route to receive a grade of 9b+ (5.15c).

On February 7, 2013, Ondra ascended La Dura Dura in Oliana, Catalonia, Spain, his second 9b+ (5.15c) after Change. He worked on this project with American climber Chris Sharma, and the first ascent took Ondra nine weeks. On February 9, 2013, two days after La Dura Dura, Ondra succeeded in the second ascent of the 9b (5.15b) route, Fight or flight, first climbed by Sharma in 2011. On July 9, 2013, Ondra realized the second-ever onsight of a 9a (5.14d) route in history, after Alexander Megos, with the ascent of Cabane au Canada in Rawyl, Switzerland.

On November 21, 2016, Ondra completed the second free ascent of the 1,000-metre granite route, The Dawn Wall, a 32-pitch grade 5.14d (9a) big wall climbing route at El Capitan in the Yosemite Valley. The route was widely regarded as the hardest big wall climbing route in the world. Ondra led every pitch and completed the project in 8 days (the first ascenders, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson alternated leads, and spent 19 days on the wall).

On April 23, 2017, Ondra set a new highpoint for Black Diamond's The Project indoor sport route in Stockholm, Sweden, which is believed to be the hardest in the world.

On September 3, 2017, after about 4 years of dedicated work and training, Ondra climbed Silence, in the Hanshelleren Cave in Flatanger Municipality, Norway. Silence was the world's first-ever route to have a proposed grade of 9c (5.15d). On February 10, 2018, Ondra completed the world's first-ever flash of a confirmed 9a+ (5.15a) route with his ascent of Super Crackinette in Saint-Léger du Ventoux, France.

Rankings

Climbing World Cup

Discipline	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2021	2022	2023	2024
Lead	1	3	57	-	11	3	1	23	27	31	1	31	19	22	35
Bouldering	15	1	-	-	-	24	3	-	-	-	2	3	-	20	32
Speed	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Combined	1	1	-	-	-	2	1	-	65	-	2	-	-	-	-

Climbing World Championships

Discipline	2007 Youth B	2008 Youth B	2009 Youth A
Lead	1	1	1

Discipline	2009	2011	2012	2014	2016	2018	2019	2023	2025
Lead	2	3	3	1	1	2	1	8	15
Bouldering	-	2	-	1	2	17	6	8	-
Speed	-	70	-	-	-	81	58	-	-
Combined	-	-	-	-	-	2	18	6	-

Climbing European Championships

Discipline	2010	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022
Lead	2	-	2	2	1	1
Bouldering	2	-	2	-	-	3
Source:

Rock Master

Discipline	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Lead	3	3		5				-
Duel			1	2		-	1	1
KO Boulder	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1

Number of medals in the Climbing European Youth Cup

Lead

Season	Category	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
2007	Youth B	5			5
2008	Youth B	5			5
Total	10	0	0	10
Source:

Number of medals in the Climbing World Cup

Lead

Season	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
2009	4			4
2010	1	1	1	3
2011 2012				0
2013	1	1		2
2014	3			3
2015	2	2		4
2016				0
2017		1		1
2018				0
2019	3			3
2020	1			1
2021				0
2022	1			1
2023		1		1
Total	16	6	1	23
Source:

Bouldering

Season	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
2009			1	1
2010	3	2		5
2011 2012 2013				0
2014		1		1
2015			2	2
2016 2017 2018				0
2019	1	2		3
2021	2			2
2022				0
2023		1		1
Total	6	6	3	15
Source:

Single-pitch routes

Adam Ondra

The table below shows the large number of routes graded 8a (5.13b) or more ascended by Adam Ondra in about 16 years, from August 2, 2002 (when he redpointed his first 8a) to November 10, 2018. The total number is 1554, of which one was at 9c (5.15d) and 725 were onsighted, including four onsights at 9a (5.14d) and one flash at 9a+ (5.15a).

Grade	Redpoint	Flash	On-sight	Total
9c (5.15d)	1			1
9b+ (5.15c)	4			4
9b (5.15b)	20			20
9a+ (5.15a)	39	1		40
9a (5.14d)	101	2	4	107
8c+ (5.14c)	124	1	21	146
8c (5.14b)	110	1	61	172
8b+ (5.14a)	96	4	85	185
8b (5.13d)	108	19	143	270
8a+ (5.13c)	82	17	207	306
8a (5.13b)	65	35	205	305
Total	750	80	725	1555

Redpoint

9c (5.15d):

9b+ (5.15c):

9b (5.15b):

9a+ (5.15a):

On-sight

The east face of Monkey Face at Smith Rock, containing Just do it (8c+), onsighted by Ondra in 2018. When it was first ascended by Tribout, Just do it was considered the hardest route in the USA.

9a (5.14d):

8c+ (5.14c):

8c (5.14b):

Boulder problems

Adam Ondra

Ondra won the bouldering gathering Melloblocco in 2008, 2009 2010 and 2011.

He climbed 293 boulder problems between 8A (V11) and 8C+ (V16). Specifically:

Multi-pitch routes

Adam Ondra

Karambony East Face - Tough Enough route runs in the middle

• The Dawn Wall - El Capitan (USA) - 3,000 feet (915 meters) tall - 32 pitches, at least two of which graded 9a (5.14d). Described as the hardest big wall in the world.

• Mora Mora - Tsaranoro Atsimo (MDG) - October 10, 2010 - First free ascent • Bravo Les Filles - Tsaranoro Kelly (MDG) - October 7, 2010 • Tough Enough Original - Karambony (MDG) - October 4, 2010 - First free ascent • Tough Enough - Karambony (MDG) - September 30, 2010 - First free ascent • Hotel Supramonte - Gole di Gorroppu (ITA) - October 18, 2008 - First onsight ascent • Ali Baba - Paroi Derobée (Aiglun, FRA) - 2008 - Second ascent • WoGü - Rätikon (CHE) - July 26, 2008 - First free ascent of Beat Kammerlander's route (1997) • Zub za zub - Rätikon (CHE) - July 29, 2007 - First free ascent • Silbergeier - Rätikon (CHE) - July 27, 2007

Filmography

Adam Ondra

• The Fanatic Search - 2009 - Produced by Work Less Climb More and Laurent Triay • Progression - 2009 - by Josh Lowell - Produced by Big UP Productions • The Wizard's Apprentice - 2012 - Directed by Petr Pavlíček - Produced by Bernartwood - 110' • Reel Rock Tour 7 - 2012 - Produced by Big UP Productions • La Dura Complete: The Hardest Rock Climb in the World - 2014 - Part of Reel Rock 7 (Archived 2014-12-04 at the Wayback Machine) by Big Up Productions • Change - 2014 - Directed by Petr Pavlíček - Produced by Bernartwood - • Silence—The Story of Adam Ondra and the World's First 5.15d - 2018 - by Bernardo Giménez - Produced by AO Production s.r.o. • Ondra is also producing his own video series about qualifying and competing in the 2020 Summer Olympics, released on YouTube, called Road to Tokyo.

Books

Adam Ondra

• JAROŠ, Martin; ONDRA, Adam. Adam Ondra: lezec tělem i duší. Albatros, 2019. 200 p. • ONDRA, Adam; GIMENEZ, Bernardo; BÍBA, Lukáš. Adam Ondra Book. AO Production, 2019. 223 p.

Awards

Adam Ondra

• 2009 Golden Piton Award • 2008 Salewa Rock Award • 2010 Salewa Rock Award • 2011 Salewa Rock Award • 2013 Salewa Rock Award