Introduction

Bassa is the only male speed specialist who already has Olympic experience to speak of. After establishing a new Olympic record of 5.45 seconds in Tokyo, Bassa ruptured his left bicep low down on the Lead wall. Whilst his overall score was still enough to guarantee him a place in the final, his injury meant that he was unable to start any of the events.

At thirty-nine years of age, Bassa is the oldest of the first thirty competitors to qualify, and will likely be the oldest climbing athlete in Paris - and yet 2023 saw him set a new PB of 5.28 seconds in Rome, and he’ll be roared on by a home crowd at the Olympics. Could Paris be the fairytale finish to wipe out the nightmare of Tokyo 2020?

Qualification route

IFSC Speed European Qualifier Rome 2023: 1st Place (Speed)

Bassa set a new PB at the European leg of the Continental Qualifiers, taking home the top spot and the all-important ticket to Paris.

Trivia

Bassa is one half of Les Freres Mawem, with brother Mickael the other half. Mickael, who competed alongside Bassa at the Tokyo Olympics, will be competing for a ticket to Paris at the Olympic Qualifier Series later this year.

UKC prediction

8th-12th place

Bassa is the current Olympic record holder, but that Olympic record is almost guaranteed to be broken this time around, with the vast majority of speed climbers capable of significantly faster times. With the fifth slowest of the first seven athletes to qualify, we think Bassa might be able to sneak into the top 10, but we think it’s unlikely that he’ll finish much higher.