American climber Nathaniel Coleman captured a stunning silver medal in sport climbing's Olympic debut, registering his best performance ever in an international combined competition in a thrilling, wide open Olympic final.
Coleman placed first in the bouldering round — the second of three disciplines — to give himself an opportunity at one of the first sport climbing medals in Olympic history. His performances on the other two disciplines, sixth in speed climbing and fifth in lead climbing, set him short of only Spain's Alberto Gines Lopez for the gold medal.
Coleman is a bouldering specialist with two runner-up finishes at IFSC World Cup events under his belt, though both came in 2015. The 24-year-old Utah native has logged just one top-five finish in any discipline since.
The other American male climber in Tokyo, 17-year-old Colin Duffy, finished seventh overall.
