Ben Moon is a rock climber from England. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Moon, along with climbing partner Jerry Moffatt, were the two strongest British rock climbers and were key pioneers in the development of standards in international sport climbing. In 1991, Moon made the first-ever redpoint in history of a consensus grade 8c+ (5.14c) climbing route with his ascent of Hubble.
Chris Omprakash Sharma is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He dominated sport climbing for the decade after his 2001 ascent of Realization/Biographie, the world's first-ever redpoint of a consensus 9a+ (5.15a) graded route, and ushered in what was called a "technical evolution" in the sport. Sharma carried the mantle of "world's strongest sport climber" from Wolfgang Güllich, and passed it to Adam Ondra.
Jerry Moffatt, is a British rock climber and climbing author who is widely considered as being the best British rock climber from the early-1980s to the early-1990s, and was arguably the best rock climber in the world in the mid-1980s, and an important climber in the history of the sport.
Ramón Julián Puigblanque is a professional Spanish rock climber specializing in competition lead climbing and sport climbing. He won two World Championships, in 2007 and 2011, three European Championships, in 2004 2010 and 2015, and one Lead Climbing World Cup in 2010. From 2001 to 2016, he participated in 16 seasons of the World Cup, winning 21 World Cup stages. He has also redpointed several sport routes above 9a (5.14d), and made the first free ascent of La Rambla.
Adam Ondra is a Czech professional rock climber, specializing in lead climbing, bouldering, and competition climbing. In 2013, Rock & Ice described Ondra as a prodigy and the leading climber of his generation. Ondra is the only male athlete to have won World Championship titles in both disciplines in the same year (2014) and is one of the two male athletes to have won the World Cup series in both disciplines.
Shauna Coxsey is an English professional rock climber. She is the most successful competition climber in the UK, having won the IFSC Bouldering World Cup Season in both 2016 and 2017. She retired from competition after competing in the 2020 Olympics., and continues to climb at a high level outdoors.
Brooke Raboutou is a French-American professional rock climber who specializes in competition climbing where she competes as part of the US National Team. She won the silver medal in the combined bouldering and lead climbing event at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Ethan Pringle is an American rock climber with notable ascents in sport climbing, in traditional climbing, and in bouldering. He has also been active in competition climbing, winning the American national competition lead climbing championships in both youth and adult formats, and silver at the World Youth Championships.
Alexander Megos is a German rock climber specializing in sport climbing, bouldering and competition climbing. In 2013, he became the first-ever climber to onsight a 9a (5.14d) graded route. He has made the first free ascent (FFA) of some of the hardest sport climbing routes in the world, including two 9b+ (5.15c) routes, three 9b (5.15b) routes, and several boulders with a boulder 8C (V15) rating.
Janja Garnbret is a Slovenian professional rock climber who specializes in sport climbing and competition climbing. She has won multiple competition lead climbing and competition bouldering events, two Olympic gold medals, and is widely regarded as the greatest competition climber of all time. In 2021, Garnbret became the first-ever female Olympic gold medalist in climbing, and successfully defended her title in 2024. With two gold medals, she is the most successful Slovenian athlete at the Summer Olympics. She is also the world's first-ever female climber to onsight an 8c (5.14b) graded sport climbing route.
Margo Hayes is an American professional rock climber from Boulder, Colorado. In 2016, she won both the competition bouldering and the competition lead climbing events at the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships in Guangzhou (China). In 2017, she became the first woman in history to climb a 9a+ (5.15a) graded route, and in 2019, became the first woman to complete the "9a+ Trilogy".
Anak Verhoeven is a Belgian rock climber who specializes in sport climbing and in competition lead climbing. She has repeatedly won the Belgian National Championship in lead climbing. In 2016, she ranked first on the IFSC World Ranking List. In 2017, she won both the World Games and IFSC Climbing European Championships. Verhoeven is also one of the strongest female sport climbers, and in 2017, became the first-ever woman in history to establish a new 9a+ (5.15a) route, Sweet Neuf.
Jakob Schubert is an Austrian professional rock climber, specializing in competition climbing, sport climbing, and bouldering. He is a four-time World Champion and three-time World Cup winner in lead climbing. He is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in the combined event.
Stefano Ghisolfi is an Italian professional rock climber, who specializes in competition climbing, sport climbing, and bouldering. In competition climbing, he completes in competition lead climbing, competition bouldering, and competition speed climbing, with lead being his strongest discipline. As a sport climber, he has redpointed sport climbing routes of grade 9b+ (5.15c), onsighted routes of 8c (5.14b), and solved boulder problems at grade 8B+ (V14). In December 2018, after climbing Perfecto Mundo, he became the fourth climber in history to redpoint a 9b+ (5.15c) route.
Kilian Fischhuber is a professional Austrian rock climber who specializes in bouldering, sport climbing and competition climbing, where competes in bouldering and lead climbing. From 2005 to 2011, he won five Bouldering World Cups. No other male climber was ever able to win it more than three times, or win it three times in a row. Due to his outstanding career, he was awarded the La Sportiva Competition Award in 2009, together with Chris Sharma.
Jan Hojer is a German professional rock climber specializing in sport climbing, bouldering, and competition climbing. He is known for winning one World Cup and two European Championships in competition bouldering. In May 2010, he climbed Action Directe, one of the most difficult sport climbing routes in the world. From 2013 to 2015, he sent several 8C (V15) boulder problems.
Laura Rogora is an Italian rock climber who specializes in sport climbing and in competition climbing. In 2021, she became the third-ever female climber in history to redpoint a 9b (5.15b)-graded sport climbing route, with her ascent of Erebor in Italy.
Matthew Jacob Hong is an American rock climber, filmmaker and photographer. In 2018, he became the fourth American to climb a route graded at 5.15b (9b). As a filmmaker, he directed the 2017 film Break on Through, which documented Margo Hayes completing the first-ever female ascent of a 9a+ (5.15a) graded sport climbing route, and is featured on the Reel Rock Film Tour.
William (Will) Bosi is a British professional rock climber specializing in sport climbing, bouldering and competition climbing. Bosi is only the second British sport climber in history to redpoint a 9b (5.15b) graded sport climbing route, and by 2023, was one of only a small group of climbers in the world to have completed a V17 (9A) boulder.
Simon Lorenzi is a Belgian professional rock climber specializing in sport climbing, bouldering and competition climbing. Lorenzi is one of the very few climbers to have repeated a V17 (9A) bouldering route, and the third climber to solve Burden of Dreams, the first-ever V17 (9A) graded boulder route. Lorenzi also made the first ascent of Soudain Seul, a V16/V17 boulder.
