South African sport climber David Naude 'hungry' for more Olympics

South Africa's David Naude has already had one Olympic experience and now the 19-year-old sport climber is hungry for more.

As one of Africa's top prospects in the newly-inducted Olympic sport he is among the favourites to qualify for the delayed Tokyo 2020 games from Africa's the inaugural continental championships.

The African Championships are set to start on Thursday in Naude's hometown Cape Town, with the men's qualifier for Tokyo decided on Sunday.

His compatriot Angela Eckhardt, 20, is one of the favourites in the women's event, which will be decided on Saturday,

Naude told the BBC World Service that competing at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires means he is now hungrier than ever to qualify for the senior version.

"The sheer magnitude of the event and having 4,000 or so of the world's best athletes all in one Olympic village and training together has made me very excited to give my best shot to go to Tokyo," he insisted.

"The Olympics seems like such a big goal, such an optimistic goal.

"But it would mean so much for me to go and represent my country and continent at the most prestigious sporting event in the world.

"The fact it's the first 'adult' Olympics that climbing will be a part of will be so historic for the sport, and above that, it will be great to watch!"

Regardless of whether he qualifies or not, Naude believes the sport has a bright future.

"The fact it's making its debut at the next Olympics will spark people's interest in the sport, and all the different disciplines for 2024 will encourage more people who perhaps want to try their hand at something different to the speed climbing," he exxplained.

"I think there's going to be plenty of excitement in the next four years."

What is sport climbing?

For climbing's Olympic debut in Tokyo, competitors will compete in just a single event which will test the athletes in three disciplines: bouldering, lead and speed climbing.

In future Olympics, many athletes hope to see the disciplines separated with medals being awarded for each one.

All the events are held on man made walls that can be altered depending on the discipline.

• Speed Climbing: tests the speed of the climber on a 15-meter wall competing on parallel routes. The fastest time wins. The current world record is 5.48 seconds.

• Bouldering: tests the athletes' power, technique and ability to overcome 'problems' by picking the best route possible, with a maximum height of four meters and safety mats below. The athlete who solves the most problems with the lowest attempts wins the category.

• Lead Climbing: is all about height, endurance, and strategy. Athletes are secured by a rope on an overhanging route with a six-minute time limit. The athlete who reaches the highest point wins the category.