Natalia Grossman (/ˈɡroʊsmən/ GROHSS-mən; born June 22, 2001)[3] 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.[4] She has had 22 podium finishes at World Cup events, including 11 gold medals, and is the only climber to have won four consecutive overall titles in bouldering.
Early life
editGrossman 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
editCompetition climbing
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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 climbing and sixth in lead climbing. She went undefeated in the 2019-2020 bouldering National Cup Series and won the USA Climbing 2020 Bouldering Open National Championship.[9]
In 2021, Grossman finished first in bouldering and second in lead climbing at the USA Climbing National Team Trials in March,[10][11] qualifying for the USA national team in both disciplines. In April, she won her first IFSC Climbing World Cup medal with a bronze at the Boulder World Cup in Meiringen.[12] In May, across two IFSC events held in Salt Lake City, she won her first two World Cup gold medals, topping all four boulders in the final in the first event and flashing all four final boulders in the second, beating Janja Garnbret, who also topped all four boulders, on attempts and thereby becoming the first woman to beat Garnbret in a Boulder World Cup since 2018.[13][14] In June, she won a silver medal at the Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck, winning her first overall title in the Boulder World Cup.[15] In lead climbing, Grossman finished on the podium in four of five events, winning two silver and bronze medals each and finishing in second place in the overall rankings of the Lead World Cup.[16] She closed out the season with a gold medal in bouldering and a silver medal in lead climbing at the 2021 IFSC Climbing World Championships in Moscow.[17]
In 2022, Grossman won the overall title in the Boulder World Cup by earning a place on the podium at every event that season, winning five gold medals and one silver medal.[18] She also finished in third place in the overall rankings of the Lead World Cup after six straight appearances in finals and two bronze medals.[19]
In 2023, Grossman won two gold medals and one silver medal on her way to securing her third consecutive overall title in the Boulder World Cup.[20] Later that year, she qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by winning the combined bouldering and lead climbing event at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.[21]
In 2024, Grossman suffered a knee injury on her way to winning a gold medal at the Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City in May.[22] Due to her injury, she did not compete again until competing at the Olympics in August,[23] where she finished in eleventh place in the semifinals of the combined event and did not move on to finals.[24] After winning another gold medal at the Boulder World Cup in Prague and finishing in fourth place at the Boulder World Cup in Seoul, Grossman won the overall title for the 2024 Boulder World Cup, becoming the first-ever climber to win four consecutive season titles in bouldering.[25][26][27]
Rock climbing
editWith 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[28] and redpointed the 5.14b (8c) rated sport climbing route, Positive Vibrations.[1]
World Cup results
editRankings
edit| Discipline | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bouldering | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lead | 2 | 3 | — | — |
Podiums
edit| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2022 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 11 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Personal life
editGrossman 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[30] while she continued taking classes online.[31]
Grossman's mother is from Tampico, Mexico, where her family visited in summers and winters during her childhood.[32]
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.
- ^ "GROSSMAN Natalia". Olympics.com. 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ Burgman, John (April 1, 2021). "USA Climbing 2021 National Team Trials: Highs and Lows". GymClimber.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "USA Climbing Result Service". usac.results.info. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ "USA Climbing Result Service". usac.results.info. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Walker, Noah (December 14, 2021). "Interview with Bouldering World Champion Natalia Grossman". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ "Grossman and Bailey Finish Second in 2021 IFSC Lead World Cup – USA Climbing". September 4, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ "Grossman Wins Gold and Silver at World Championships – USA Climbing". September 22, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ Pardy, Aaron (November 1, 2022). "A Recap of the 2022 IFSC Climbing World Cup Season". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Redaktion (September 26, 2022). "Lead World Cup Jakarta: Ao Yurikusa and Janja Garnbret take gold". Lacrux Klettermagazin. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Pardy, Aaron (June 16, 2023). "Natalia Grossman Wins Overall 2023 Boulder World Cup". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Pardy, Aaron (May 6, 2024). "Natalia Grossman Perseveres Through Injury for World Cup Gold". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Potter, Steven (August 8, 2024). "Women's Lead Semifinal Yields Some Expected Results—and a Major Upset". Climbing. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Vettoretti, Marco (September 22, 2024). "Official website of the International Federation of Sport Climbing". www.ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Aspland, Richard (October 3, 2024). "Official website of the International Federation of Sport Climbing". www.ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Pardy, Aaron (October 4, 2024). "Natalia Grossman Wins Overall Boulder World Cup Season Fourth Year in a Row". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ "Natalia Grossman Sends Her Fourth V13". GymClimber. July 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c "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.
- ^ Hodges, Suzie (April 22, 2024). "Natalia Grossman Is Making History as Team USA's First Latina Climber". Pop Sugar.
