climber vs athlete

climber and athlete both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
climber	Yes	No	No	No
athlete	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, athlete is a hypernym of climber; that is, athlete is a word with a broader meaning than climber:

climber: someone who climbs as a sport; especially someone who climbs mountains
athlete: a person trained to compete in sports

Other hypernyms of climber include jock.

climber (noun)	athlete (noun)
an iron spike attached to the shoe to prevent slipping on ice when walking or climbing	a person trained to compete in sports
someone who climbs as a sport; especially someone who climbs mountains
someone seeking social prominence by obsequious behavior
someone who ascends on foot
a vine or climbing plant that readily grows up a support or over other plants