Adam Ondra


Adam Ondra 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 and is one of the two male athletes to have won the World Cup series in both disciplines.
At age 13, Ondra redpointed his first graded 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 and, of which one was a, three were, and three were onsights of.
Ondra is the first climber to redpoint a route with a proposed grade of, the first climber to redpoint a route, the first-ever to flash a route, and the second ever to onsight a route.
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.
WWW Official Site𝕏 AdamOndraCZFB adamondraofficialYT UC8eNyF9eYwgr_K-Nl4gSHWw

Climbing career

Early years

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 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,, he onsighted routes.
  • In 2002,, he onsighted and redpointed.
  • In 2003,, he onsighted.
  • In 2004,, he onsighted and redpointed.
  • In 2005,, he onsighted.
  • In 2006,, he managed to redpoint his first, Martin Krpan at Misja Pec.

Competition climbing

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.
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

During a March 2011 trip to Spain, Ondra became the second-ever person to onsight a 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.
On February 7, 2013, Ondra ascended La Dura Dura in Oliana, Catalonia, Spain, his second 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 route, Fight or flight, first climbed by Sharma in 2011. On July 9, 2013, Ondra realized the second-ever onsight of a 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 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.
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. On February 10, 2018, Ondra completed the world's first-ever flash of a confirmed route with his ascent of Super Crackinette in Saint-Léger du Ventoux, France.

Rankings

Climbing World Championships

Youth
Discipline2007
Youth B		2008
Youth B		2009
Youth A
Lead111

Adult
Discipline200920112012201420162018201920232025
Lead2331121815
Bouldering-2-121768-
Speed-70---8158--
Combined-----2186-

Single-pitch routes

The table below shows the large number of routes graded or more ascended by Adam Ondra in about 16 years, from August 2, 2002 to November 10, 2018. The total number is 1554, of which one was at and 725 were onsighted, including four onsights at and one flash at.
GradeRedpointFlashOn-sightTotal
11
44
2020
39140
10124107
124121146
110161172
96485185
10819143270
8217207306
6535205305
Total750807251555

Boulder problems

Ondra won the bouldering gathering Melloblocco in 2008, 2009 2010 and 2011.
He climbed 293 boulder problems between and. Specifically:

Multi-pitch routes

The Dawn Wall - El Capitan - 3,000 feet tall - 32 pitches, at least two of which graded. Described as the hardest big wall in the world.Mora Mora - Tsaranoro Atsimo - October 10, 2010 - First free ascentBravo Les Filles - Tsaranoro Kelly - October 7, 2010Tough Enough Original - Karambony - October 4, 2010 - First free ascentTough Enough - Karambony - September 30, 2010 - First free ascentHotel Supramonte - Gole di Gorroppu - October 18, 2008 - First onsight ascentAli Baba - Paroi Derobée - 2008 - Second ascentWoGü - Rätikon - July 26, 2008 - First free ascent of Beat Kammerlander's route Zub za zub - Rätikon - July 29, 2007 - First free ascentSilbergeier - Rätikon - July 27, 2007

Filmography

The Fanatic Search - 2009 - Produced by and Laurent TriayProgression - 2009 - by Josh Lowell - Produced by Big UP Productions
  • The Wizard's Apprentice - 2012 - Directed by Petr Pavlíček - Produced by - 110'
  • Reel Rock Tour 7 - 2012 - Produced by Big UP Productions
  • La Dura Complete: The Hardest Rock Climb in the World - 2014 - Part of by Big Up Productions
  • Change - 2014 - Directed by Petr Pavlíček - Produced by -
  • 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

  • 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