Amidst the Olympic excitement, rock climbers are becoming giddy with idea that their sport could earn a them a gold medal in the future.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing was recently recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the governing body for climbing. Recognition by the IOC gives the sport Olympic credibility and a greater potential to earn a spot in the games.
USA Climbing‘s executive director, Keith Ferguson, believes climbing is very appealing to to the IOC because of its popularity among young athletes. “We have a huge opportunity in that we’re youth-based and they’re looking for youth games.”
Although chances are looking better for Olympic climbing, there’s still a lot of work to be done and young rock monkeys shouldn’t expect to be sending for gold until at least 2020.
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[via: The climbing narcissist]
