They turned a chapel in central Paris into a climbing center, and it's packed full of the faithful.

‌Climbing District, the company behind this, runs urban climbing walls and with the sport featuring at the Olympics, business is booming.

‌‌"We are standing in an old chapel dating back to the middle of the 19th century which was converted into a climbing wall in November 2022 when we went through seven months of works," Antoine, the co-founder of Climbing District, told CGTN.

"We've got a 13m high wall and we welcome roughly 300 people every day."

Following the sport's debut at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, climbing's popularity has soared around the world.

‌Kelly is a new member of climbing's congregation.

"It's a great place to make friends and friends that have the same passion as you so that's just awesome," she said.

‌World Health Organization (WHO) figures show that one in four adults do not meet recommended levels of physical activity worldwide, and in France almost half of women and 30 percent of men are physically inactive.

‌The city of Paris is trying to use the Games to encourage people to get moving, and with climbing, once you start you can't stop, says Kelly.

‌"Even when I don't climb I think about it, when I eat, when I sleep I think about this one… I don't know, I think about it all the time."

‌In the Olympic spirit, it was time for this journalist to get involved, WATCH the video above to see how I got on.

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