Of the four American climbers competing in the combined Boulder and Lead event at the Paris Olympics next month, two of them — Colin Duffy and Brooke Raboutou — are hometown heroes. What’s more, this will be the second Olympic Games for both of them, and only the second time climbing has been an Olympic sport.
This year proved interesting for Duffy and Raboutou in that their path to qualification could not have been more different. Duffy, 20-years old, came from behind to qualify at the first opportunity, in Bern, Switzerland last August. He had sprained his ankle a couple of weeks earlier and was understandably hesitant in the Bouldering event, where every fall is a ground-fall.
“There were a few boulders that were a lot more difficult with the injury, and I didn’t have the best bouldering round,” he told me. Duffy squeaked into semi-finals in twentieth place out of twenty. Fortunately for him, the competition was a 12-day event so his ankle had a chance to heal. In the end he earned the silver medal, along with the first American spot in the Olympics. “I had a good mindset and things just clicked and I was able to get that ticket,” he said.
Raboutou, on the other hand, had a much more difficult road. She got so close in Bern, but it didn’t quite pan out. The 23-year-old daughter of two World Champions (Didier Raboutou and Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou) was literally one move away from qualifying, but that single move in Bouldering cost her big time. “It ended up being a really heartbreak finish,” said her mom, Erbesfield-Raboutou, “mostly because this season clearly she showed that she was one of the best.”
Her next chance to qualify was in Santiago, Chile in October, where only the first-place competitor would go to the Olympics. One of Raboutou’s friends and teammates, Natalia Grossman, 23, secured the top spot, while Raboutou earned second place. Again, so close.
Finally, in May, Raboutou seized her final chance to qualify in the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai, China by taking first place in both Boulder and Lead disciplines. Then, in Budapest, Hungary last month, she left no doubt in anyone’s mind that she belongs on the Olympic stage by taking silver in Bouldering and gold in Lead. “It’s hard to believe, I’m incredibly happy,” she said, as quoted on olympics.com. “It’s been a hard journey. I missed some chances to qualify. It’s been a lot of heartbreak and a lot of growth.”
Raboutou, Duffy and Grossman are all products of the wildly successful Team ABC youth climbing program in Boulder, founded by Erbesfield-Raboutou back in 2005.
“Because Brooke has such distinct goals for herself that she shares with me, I’m really watching something else unfold, rather than the results,” Erbesfield-Raboutou told me. “I’ll go into an event and not looking for Brooke to win or to place well, but just to grow as an athlete because I know that’s her goal.”
As for Duffy, he’s in the unique position of being one of the younger Olympians, yet one with previous experience. “It’ll be nice to have already been on that stage before, so it will not feel as scary as it might feel for the new Olympians,” he said. Last time around, because of Covid, the audience was mostly virtual.
Next month in Paris will be completely different, full of live and very excited spectators. “It’s a higher pressure situation, which I think I thrive on a bit,” said Duffy. “If you’re climbing well and the crowd is cheering loud, it’s the most motivating factor possible. Like, you can unlock a part of yourself that you might not have known that you had.”
Fact Box: Here’s when to watch Olympic climbing live next month:
Aug. 5
2 – 6 a.m. Men’s boulder semifinals, women’s speed qualification
Aug. 6
2 – 6 a.m. Women’s boulder semifinals, men’s speed qualification
Aug. 7
2 – 5:15 a.m. Men’s lead semifinals, women’s speed finals
Aug. 8
2 – 5:15 a.m. Women’s lead semifinals, men’s speed finals
Aug. 9
2 – 5:30 a.m. Men’s boulder/lead finals
Aug. 10
2 – 5:30 a.m. Women’s boulder/lead finals
Contact Chris Weidner at cweidner8@gmail.com. Follow him on Instagram @christopherweidner and X @cweidner8.
