Natalia Grossman (born June 22, 2001) is an American professional rock climber who specializes in competition climbing. She represents the United States at IFSC Climbing World Cup in competition bouldering and competition lead climbing.[3] She won gold and silver at the 2021 IFSC Climbing World Championships, and has 19 podium finishes at World Cup events, including nine golds. In October 2023, Grossman qualified for the 2024 Olympic games in Paris by winning the boulder & lead combined competition at the 2023 Pan American Games.[4]
 Grossman in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 22, 2001 Santa Cruz, California, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | University of Colorado Boulder (2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Rock climber | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.62 m)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Updated on 2023-06-15. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life edit
Grossman grew up in Santa Cruz, California and at age six, began climbing at the Pacific Edge climbing gym where Chris Sharma also climbed in his youth.[5] She joined the Zero Gravity team that trained at Berkeley Ironworks,[6] a gym that was an hour and 45 minutes away in Berkeley, California.[7]
Following Zero Gravity's disbanding in 2014,[6] her family moved to Boulder, Colorado in 2015 so she could train with Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou's Team ABC.[8]
Climbing career edit
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Competition climbing edit
Grossman finished second in the bouldering and combined disciplines at the 2019 IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships in Arco, Italy, where she also finished fourth in speed and sixth in lead.
In 2019, Grossman went undefeated in the bouldering National Cup Series and won the USA Climbing 2020 Bouldering Open National Championship.[9] Also in 2019, 17-year-old Grossman advanced to the semifinal of the Boulder World Cup in Vail, Colorado, finishing seventh, one place short of a spot in the final round.[10]
At the USA Climbing National Team Trials in March 2021, Grossman finished first in bouldering and second in lead, qualifying for the United States national team in both disciplines.[11] In April 2021, Grossman advanced to the final and finished third at the opening Boulder World Cup of the 2021 IFSC Climbing World Cup season in Meiringen.[12] In May 2021, across two IFSC events held in Salt Lake City, Grossman won her first two World Cup gold medals, topping all four boulders in the final in the first event[13] and flashing all four final boulders in the second, beating Janja Garnbret, who also topped all four boulders, on attempts, becoming the first woman to beat Garnbret in a Boulder World Cup since 2018.[14] In Lead, Grossman finished on the podium in four of the five events, winning two silver and bronze medals each, and finished second overall for the season.[15]
Rock climbing edit
With competitions in 2020 canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grossman focused on outdoor climbs for the first time in her career, sending four V13 (8B) rated boulders in the Rocky Mountain National Park[16] and redpointed the 5.14b (8c) rated sport climbing route, Positive Vibrations.[1]
World Cup podiums edit
Lead[17] edit
| Season | First | Second | Third | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Bouldering[17] edit
| Season | First | Second | Third | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2022 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 9 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
Personal life edit
Grossman attended the University of Colorado Boulder and graduated in 2022.[5] In January 2021, she moved to Salt Lake City to train at USA Climbing's national team base[18] while she continued taking classes online.[19]
References edit
- ^ a b "8c, 8A+ and two 8B's by Natalia Grossman (18)". 8a.nu. May 26, 2020.
- ^ "Natalia Grossman". International Federation of Sport Climbing. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
- ^ Burgman, John (April 1, 2021). "USA Climbing 2021 National Team Trials: Highs and Lows". GymClimber.
- ^ Peene, Sam (October 24, 2023). "Pan American Games 2023: Team USA's Natalia Grossman clinches final gold medal on sport climbing's continental games debut". olympics.com.
- ^ a b Burgman, John (December 5, 2019). "Interview: Natalia Grossman is America's New Comp Superstar". Climbing.
- ^ a b Walker, Noah (December 14, 2021). "Interview with Bouldering World Champion Natalia Grossman". Gripped. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ^ Chapman, Jeff (October 24, 2018). "The Kids Are All Right". Climbing.
- ^ "Ashima Shiraishi wins two golds at world climbing championships". The Mercury News. September 5, 2015.
- ^ Burgman, John (February 3, 2020). "USA Climbing 2020 Bouldering Open National Championship: Highs and Lows". Climbing.
- ^ Miller, Delaney (June 11, 2019). "History is Made in Vail: A Dark Horse and a Season Sweep". GymClimber.
- ^ "USA Climbing 2021 National Team Trials: Highs and Lows". GymClimber. April 1, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
- ^ Burgman, John (April 20, 2021). "What the First World Cup Told Us About the Upcoming Olympics". Climbing.
- ^ Berry, Natalie (May 24, 2021). "IFSC Boulder World Cup Salt Lake City 2021: Report". UKC. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ Berry, Natalie (May 31, 2021). "IFSC Boulder and Speed World Cup Salt Lake City 2021 (Round 2): Report". UKC. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
- ^ Burgman, John (September 4, 2021). "Garnbret, Grossman Battle At World Cup Lead Finals". GymClimber. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ "Natalia Grossman Sends Her Fourth V13". GymClimber. July 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "Natalia Grossman". IFSC. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
- ^ Jag, Julie (May 28, 2021). "Salt Lake City climber Natalia Grossman's rare World Cup win may be a sign USA Climbing is emerging as an international force". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ Miller, Delaney (August 9, 2021). "Meet the Next Gen Olympic Hopefuls Gunning for Paris 2024". GymClimber. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
