Ludovico Fossali talks qualifying for the Olympics

Ludovico Fossali is an Italian speed climber. He won gold at the 2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships and qualified for the Olympics. In this short feature, he caught up with Sportageous, to share his story and talk about what it means to be going to Tokyo.

Ludovico Fossali poses for the camera.
Ludovico Fossali: a profile. Source Giovanni Moretti, Enrico Ghizolfi

Sarah Fatima: Tell me a bit about your life outside of climbing?

Ludovico Fossali: I’ve been on the military sports team since 2018 and I’ve been climbing since I was 5. It was the only sport that I never stopped doing!

I love sport in general, especially if it involves the mountains and also like snowboarding and trekking and basketball too!

How did you get into speed climbing in particular?

I started climbing in a gym and eventually got into speed climbing. There was an Italian coach who taught speed climbing there, in fact, he was one of the first coaches at the time and I was lucky enough to train with him.

In 2007, I started practicing speed climbing and I got some results out of it, so I continued and here am I, a professional climber today!

I think the Olympics will change the whole world of climbing into something bigger and better! For every climber out there, this means good news!

Tell me a little bit about your training regime and what goes into improving your time on the speed wall?

I have 2 training sessions a day and I reserve every day for a different discipline. 6/7 days a week!

READ  Amanda Sobhy on her Achilles injury, a winning attitude and US Squash

I work with a lot of weight to improve my power, and obviously a lot on the wall to perfect my technique.

And how much of this time is spent off the wall?

It’s half and half, to be honest. I work out a lot in the gym to improve my power on the speed wall and my performances in lead and boulder.

This is a question that differs for everyone. What about the nutrition side of things?

I live in the best place for food as well, so I like to eat. But obviously I can’t always eat always pizza and pasta, but I can say that I have always eaten well and kept healthy.

READ: Dmitrii Timofeev on speed climbing in Russia

What has it been like to win speed championships and the World Cup for you, personally?

It was fantastic! I liked it so much that I couldn’t sleep after that (but I should have because of the Olympic qualification the day after).

You’ve also qualified for the Olympics. Tell me a little bit about that experience?

I think as a climber, it was the worst competition that I ever had. Mentally, I wasn’t in the best shape to compete. After the second place in the speed round, I switched off my brain and the two competitions after that, boulder and lead, were quite horrible.

Anyway, I reached the goal and I’m thrilled about that, but I know that I must work hard to improve!

READ  Caribbean Cricket Podcast: West Indies cricket with authenticity

Did the delay/postponement of the competition impact your training? How?

Yeah, for sure! Everything has change. I have had a lot of time to train and improve in lead and boulder. I can now focus on every single detail that can improve my performance, both physically and mentally.

Ludovico Fossali celebrates
Ludovico Fossali celebrates a victory. Source: Enrico Ghizolfi, Giovanni Moretti

What else has this given you time for?

Well aside from the fact that I have more time to improve at lead and boulder, I’ve spent a lot of time on the rocks too and enjoyed it a lot.

I’ve also been working on the fingerboard and using other tools to improve my finger and arm strength. I’m trying to improve my endurance too, but this is, by far, the hardest part!

READ: John Brosler talks speed climbing, mental resilience and confidence

How do you think the Olympics will change climbing? And is it already happening?

What we can see is that the number of climbers is growing so fast. To add to this, the beautiful part is that they belong to every age group!

I think the Olympics will change the whole world of climbing into something bigger and better! For every climber out there, this means good news!


For more Articles on climbing, visit Sportageous.
Follow Ludovico Fossali on Facebook and Instagram
Sarah Fatima assisted in the curation of this article.

Hope you enjoyed this feature!
Click below to share with family & friends