In yesterday’s Men’s Olympic Sport Climbing qualifier round the Mawem brothers Bassa and Mickael were dominant. After Bassa dominated the Speed round, his brother Mickael did the same in Bouldering. In Lead Bassa Mawem picked up a severe injury.
The Men’s qualifier results were a little unexpected as Mickael won the Bouldering round that Tomoa Narasaki or Adam Ondra were predicated to crush. With the performance of a lifetime he qualified first and will make Finals.
Bassa, the older of the two Mawem brothers at 36, was always expected to do well in Speed. He came straight out of the barrel with a 5.45 seconds on his first attempt. This was a personal best in competition and set a high bar for the first Olympic Record.
Bassa Mawem Injury Confirmed As Torn Bicep – Video
In the Lead round Bassa was on hold seven when he shouted, dropped to the floor and clutched his bicep, looking to be in extreme pain. His knot was untied for him and on the replay you could clearly see the muscle of his bicep seemed to recoil as he was in a palm up position with his hand above his head.
You can see clip of the rupture here.
He went off the stage in obvious distress and was seen to immediately by a doctor. From the way the muscle rebounded it seemed like the muscle had pulled away where the tendon attaches to the elbow. It was hoped this wasn’t the case but it has now been confirmed by Bassa and the International Olympic Committee.
An IOC representative has confirmed: “After additional examinations at the competition site… the medical diagnosis is now known: Bassa Mawem suffers, according to this diagnosis, a total rupture of the lower biceps tendon“
In a later interview Bassa confirmed himself “I am qualified for the final, but I will not be able to participate because I had a complete rupture of the lower tendon of the biceps” and that recovery would be at least six months.
Recovery from a biceps tendon tear is a very long process. It requires an operation that is very tricky and does not guarantee a complete repair. In this time he will not be able to train or climb at all and it’s often career ending.
We wish Bassa the best of luck with the recovery. He goes home with a very well deserved 8th place and won’t be there to see his brother compete in Finals. They work as training partners and each other’s coaches so this will be a big blow to Mickael who has done so well.
Read More
– What Is Speed Climbing?
– What Is Bouldering?
– Full Guide To Olympic Climbing 2020
– Bassa Mawem and Mickael Mawem Profile
Bassa Mawem Will Take 8th – Ondra Benefits
Bassa Mawem will take 8th in the finals as he can’t compete and will be marked as Did Not Start (DNS) in the leader boards. Because of his placings he was due to compete against Adam Ondra in the Speed Finals.
As the finals are head to head, this means Ondra will automatically progress from the first round of Speed finals, taking 4th place at the lowest. This is a massive bump as Ondra is not a Speed specialist and was expected to lose this first round and possibly the next rounds.
This massive change of fate for Bassa could see Ondra win the Olympics just because his worst category would get a bump. He still needs to perform in both Bouldering and Lead climbing. Ondra qualified for finals but wasn’t on form yesterday.
Bassa Mawem Injury Doesn’t Help Alex Megos
It was thought that because Bassa was out that the next highest qualifier Alex Megos in 9th would go through to the finals to fill the space. This might make sense as rules do say eight climbers must compete and the Speed Finals are head to head.
However, this isn’t the case. Alex Megos is going home with a well fought for 9th place and won’t take Bassa’s place.
