The men's rope climbing event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. It was one of nine gymnastics events and it was contested for the third time after 1896 and 1904. The competition was held on Sunday, July 20, 1924. Seventy gymnasts from nine nations competed. The event was won by Bedřich Šupčík of Czechoslovakia. Albert Séguin of France took silver, while August Güttinger of Switzerland and Ladislav Vácha tied for bronze. All three medaling nations were making their debut in rope climbing, so they were the first medals for each in the event.
Background
This was the third appearance of the event, which was held four times. The event had been held in 1896 and 1904 and would appear again in 1932. The event was an unusual one, not one of the standard apparatus competitions held at the world championships. The Official Report commented that it appeared some nations had considered the event less important than the other apparatus events on the 1924 programme.Official Report, p. 356.
The United States and Great Britain were the only two nations to have competed in one of the prior rope climbing competitions (in 1904 and 1896, respectively); the other seven nations all made their debut in the event.
Competition format
The rope climbing event was judged on time, with the fastest to reach the top winning.
The times were also converted into points for use in the individual and team all-around scores, as the rope climbing was one of the 11 components of the 1924 all-around competition.
The points were as follows: A time of 9.0 seconds or faster was worth 10 points. Each second between 9.0 seconds and 10.0 seconds reduced the score by 1 point. Each second slower than 10.0 seconds reduced the score by 1 point.
Thus, a time of 10.0 seconds was worth 5 points, while any gymnast taking 12.0 seconds or more would receive zero points for the exercise.
Schedule
Date Time Round Sunday, 20 July 1924 Final
Results
Rank Gymnast Nation Score Time Bedřich Šupčík 10 7.2 Albert Séguin 10 7.4 August Güttinger 10 7.8 Ladislav Vácha 10 7.8 5 Stane Žilič 10 8.0 6 Jean Gounot 10 8.4 Arthur Hermann 10 8.4 Janez Porenta 10 8.4 Frank Kriz 10 8.4 10 Mario Lertora 10 8.6 Leon Štukelj 10 8.6 John Pearson 10 8.6 13 Francesco Martino 10 8.8 Léon Delsarte 10 8.8 Frank Safandra 10 8.8 Max Wandrer 10 8.8 Robert Pražák 10 8.8 18 Luigi Cambiaso 10 9.0 Vittorio Lucchetti 10 9.0 Ferdinando Mandrini 10 9.0 Hans Grieder 10 9.0 Bohumil Mořkovský 10 9.0 23 Carl Widmer 9 9.2 24 Giuseppe Paris 8 9.4 Eugène Cordonnier 8 9.4 Stane Derganc 8 9.4 Mihael Oswald 8 9.4 Harold Brown 8 9.4 Miroslav Klinger 8 9.4 Jan Koutný 8 9.4 31 Georges Miez 7 9.6 Otto Pfister 7 9.6 Rudolph Novak 7 9.6 Frank Hawkins 7 9.6 35 Giorgio Zampori 6 9.8 André Higelin 6 9.8 Jean Gutweninger 6 9.8 Otto Suhonen 6 9.8 39 Luigi Maiocco 5 10.0 François Gangloff 5 10.0 41 Joseph Huber 5 10.2 Jaakko Kunnas 5 10.2 Akseli Roine 5 10.2 Antoine Rebetez 5 10.2 45 Josef Wilhelm 4 10.4 Rastko Poljšak 4 10.4 47 Josip Primožič 3 10.8 Väinö Karonen 3 10.8 Pierre Tolar 3 10.8 50 Samuel Humphreys 2 11.2 51 Curtis Rottman 2 11.4 Henry Finchett 2 11.4 Thomas Hopkins 2 11.4 Mathias Weishaupt 2 11.4 55 Al Jochim 2 11.6 John Mais 2 11.6 Stanley Leigh 2 11.6 58 Albert Spencer 1 11.8 Eevert Kerttula 1 11.8 60 Eetu Kostamo 0 12.0 Charles Quaino 0 12.0 62 Edward Leigh 0 12.2 63 Mikko Hämäläinen 0 12.6 Aarne Roine 0 12.6 65 Albert Neumann 0 12.8 66 Stane Hlastan 0 13.4 67 Jacques Palzer 0 14.2 68 Émile Munhofen 0 14.6 69 Théo Jeitz 0 15.0 Mathias Erang 0 15.0 — Stanislav Indruch — Josef Kos —
References
Official Olympic Report