You may be wondering if your height or weight is holding you back, or trying to achieve that ideal size to get you on the right track for your goals. Luckily, I’ve put together this article which will show you the height of pro and Olympic climbers (both male and female), along with the weight of many other climbers.
So, how tall are Olympic climbers? The median average height of male Olympic climbers who qualified for the quarter finals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics was 176.5cm (or just over 5 feet 9 inches). The Olympic female climber’s median average height was 163.4cm (or just over 5 feet 4 inches).
So, how much do pro climbers weigh? The median average weight of male Olympic climbers who qualified for the quarter finals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics was 142lbs (or around 64.5kg). The Olympic female climber’s median average weight was 109lbs (or around 49kg). While 8 climbers qualified for both the male and female categories, only 5 males and 6 females weight measurements could be found to calculate this data.
Read on to find out more about the heights and weights of pro climbers, and whether your height or weight actually matters if you want to improve your climbing ability.
Page Jumps
- How Tall Are Olympic Climbers?
- What is the Ideal Height for Climbers?
- How Much Do Pro Climbers Weigh?
- How Much Does Weight Affect Climbing?
- Related Questions
How Tall Are Olympic Climbers?
The Tokyo 2021 Olympics were a success, having 3 different disciplines: bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. These were combined to make an overall score. Below I’ve compiled the heights of the male and female climbers who reached the quarter finals of the Olympics for these combined disciplines.
There were 8 male, and 8 female climbers in total, and all sources to where the heights of these climbers’ has been given. The median average height of these climbers (adding the heights together and dividing that number by 8) has also been given for both male and female. I have also linked to other articles I have written where relevant with the page jump to a brief biography on the climber. These articles are called “The 13 Most Famous Rock Climbers of All Time” and “The 8 Best Competition Climbers in 2020”.
How tall are Men’s Olympic Climbers?
The average height of the male climbers mentioned below was just over 5 feet 9 inches. I’ve also included which climbers achieved Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals in the combined disciplines.
| Name | Height (cm) | Height (approx. in feet, inches) |
| Alberto Ginés Lopéz (G) | 169 | 5′ 7″ |
| Nathaniel Coleman (S) | 180 | 5′ 11″ |
| Jakob Schubert (B) | 176 | 5′ 9″ |
| Adam Ondra | 186 | 6′ 1″ |
| Mickaël Mawem | 179 | 5′ 10″ |
| Tomoa Narasaki | 170 | 5′ 7″ |
| Bassa Mawem | 184 | 6′ 0″ |
| Colin Duffy | 168 | 5′ 6″ |
How Tall Are Women’s Olympic Climbers?
The average height of the female climbers mentioned below was just over 5 feet 4 inches. I’ve also included which climbers achieved Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals in the combined disciplines.
| Name | Height (cm) | Height (approx. in feet, inches) |
| Janja Garnbret (G) | 164 | 5′ 5″ |
| Miho Nonaka (S) | 163 | 5′ 4″ |
| Akiyo Noguchi (B) | 167 | 5′ 6″ |
| Aleksandra Mirosław | 162 | 5′ 4″ |
| Seo Chae-hyun | 162 | 5′ 4″ |
| Jessica Pilz | 163 | 5′ 4″ |
| Anouck Jaubert | 169 | 5′ 7″ |
| Brooke Raboutou | 157 | 5′ 2″ |
Other Heights of Pro Climbers Who Weren’t in the Olympic Quarter Finals
Below are the heights of some professional and competition climbers who weren’t in the Olympic Quarterfinals, or they weren’t in the Olympics at all. Shauna Coxsey, and YiLing Song for example, came 10th and 12th respectively, and Sean McColl came 17th. This will, hopefully, give you another idea of professional climbers heights, whether in the Olympics or not.
Male
| Name | Height (cm) | Height (approx. in feet, inches) |
| Alex Honnold | 180 | 5′ 11″ |
| Chris Sharma | 184 | 6′ 0″ |
| Sean McColl | 169 | 5′ 7″ |
Female
| Name | Height (cm) | Height (approx. in feet, inches) |
| Shauna Coxsey | 163 | 5′ 4″ |
| Fanny Gibert | 165 | 5′ 5″ |
| YiLing Song | 164 | 5′ 5″ |
What is the Ideal Height for Climbing?
For a male climber, it seems the ideal height is anywhere between 5’ 6” and 6’ 1”. This is taken from the quarter finalists of the Olympics in 2021. For a female climber, it seems the ideal height is anywhere between 5’ 2” and 5’ 7”. Again, this number was taken from the quarter finalists of the Olympics in 2021. Therefore, climbers of many different heights can succeed in competition and professional climbing. Height should not be a measurement that puts someone off from getting better or enjoying their climbing experience.
How Much Do Pro Climbers Weigh?
The weight of Olympic 2021 climbers is slightly harder to find, however any that I could that reached the quarter final I’ve included here. The median average weight of the 5 male Olympic climbers was 142 lbs, whereas the females average was 109 lbs.
How Much Do Male Pro Climbers Weigh?
| Name | Weight (lbs) | Weight (kg) |
| Alberto Ginés Lopéz (G) | 128 | 58 |
| Nathaniel Coleman (S) | 163 | 74 |
| Jakob Schubert (B) | 139 | 63 |
| Adam Ondra | 154 | 70 |
| Tomoa Narasaki | 128 | 58 |
How Much Do Female Pro Climbers Weigh?
| Name | Weight (lbs) | Weight (kg) |
| Janja Garnbret (G) | 104 | 47 |
| Miho Nonaka (S) | 117 | 53 |
| Akiyo Noguchi (B) | 108 | 49 |
| Aleksandra Mirosław | 108 | 49 |
| Seo Chae-hyun | 106 | 48 |
| Jessica Pilz | 115 | 52 |
How Much Does Weight Affect Climbing?
This is a question that’s asked a lot, and I’ve written an extensive article about why climber’s are usually skinny which you can find here. The main thing to take away from this is, the heavier you are, the harder it is going to be to pull yourself up the wall. You’re going to need more strength for the weight you’re carrying. This doesn’t mean to say that if you’re a heavier person you just can’t climb full stop, but you may find it quite a bit harder than an average sized (or smaller) person.
There have been a couple of heavier climbers such as Don Whillans and John Dunne that didn’t let their weight affect their climbing ability. But the question would then be, if they weighed less would they have been able to climb better routes? Well I’ll let you decide that one, because I honestly don’t know the answer!
Related Questions
Are rock climbers short? Height does not seem to be a major factor for major success in climbing, as short and tall climbers have been able to succeed in competition.
Is being tall good for bouldering? Different heights can have positive or negative effects on bouldering. Being tall can help reach certain holds, whereas being small can help technical ability on other problems.