Brooke Raboutou is one of many Olympic-qualifying athletes getting creative about their workouts during social distancing. In August 2019, Raboutou became the first American athlete to qualify for sport climbing [1], which was slated to make its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Raboutou, a 19-year-old from Boulder, CO, belongs to a family of champion climbers and was immersed in the world of grip strength and boulders from a young age.
Raboutou was one of the athletes who saw her Olympic ticket postponed to the summer of 2021 [2] due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. That ticket is still valid — she and fellow US climbers Kyra Condie, Nathaniel Coleman, and Colin Duffy will all retain their individual spots [3] since they qualified through their international sport federations. Now it's just a matter of holding tight and keeping up with training until next year.
There will be three disciplines in Olympic sport climbing [4]: lead climbing, where athletes climb as high as possible within a specified time frame; speed climbing, where two athletes race against each other; and bouldering, where they try to scale a number of fixed routes in a specified amount of time. "It's not just about being strong [5]," Raboutou told Rolling Stone, "but solving the problems in front of you."
Raboutou, according to the outlet, practices climbing for up to 11 hours a day, doing shoulder-mobility exercises and building up grip and upper-body strength (pull-ups and "dangling by three fingers from a ledge," for example). But, she has to make do while her normal gym was closed amid the pandemic. When she's not using a wall set up in her basement, she improvises, practicing around her house.
Ahead, check out Raboutou hanging from her fingertips in her home like a true pro. She scales her kitchen counters to go get a snack and even climbs over her fireplace! Don't try this at home unless you're up to speed with this rockstar; walk on your own two feet to open the fridge instead.