The Belmont 21-year-old opted to take some time off training after the 2020 Games in Tokyo were postponed for 12 months, started surfing and also purchased a labradoodle puppy called Charlie.

READ MORE: Ben Abel - 'Everything I do now is for climbing'

Abel then sustained the fracture in a fall last month, but he's now working towards rescheduled trials in Sydney in December.

The original qualification event for the national team in April was cancelled because of the global coronavirus pandemic.

"Once that was called off I took some time off and didn't climb at all for two months. I was trying to reset my body and mind," Abel said.

The Olympics, which are supposed to be underway in Japan at the moment, have been put back until this time next year (July 23-August 8, 2021) because of the COVID-19 outbreak. "That [Tokyo] is still the goal," he said.

Abel initially felt quite "depressed" about the situation, but watching an Austrian summer series go ahead a couple of weeks ago helped with "motivation".

He feels "100 percent" recovered from his latest injury setback. He trains at Pulse Climbing in Warners Bay and Waratah's The Movement Collective. He is also working at Caves Beach climbing venue The Rock. He has yet to return to Sydney climbing centres.

Sport climbing will debut at next year's Olympics with a combination of three disciplines - speed, lead and bouldering. Australia has spots for one male and one female.

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