To see some of the greatest athletes in this sport competing along side each other was absolutely breathtaking. Not only are these individuals incredible athletes, they are incredible people as well. I've seen so many world class climbers in films and photos or read about them in articles. To finally have the chance find out who they are and their motivations them was truly enlightening. You know when someone is truly excited about meeting their favorite athlete, like Micheal Phelps, Dwayne Wade, or Tim Tebow? People who are impacting their sport in a big way? That is the experience I had. Excitement from the beginning of the competition to the end, and beyond--incredible.
Now, the competition itself.
If you were unable to be in Vail or didn't get to watch the live stream of the event on IFSC.com then you missed out. This was one of the most intensely competitive sporting events I have ever witnessed. Seeing each athlete try their absolute hardest in each round was mesmerizing. I witnessed the physical fitness of each athlete as they attempted a problem over and over again till they finally got it. As a crowd, we experienced their excitement and psyche when they hit that finish hold, fist pounded their chest, did a one-arm lock off and roared! Whether they were a US athlete or representing another country, you couldn't but help feel some of the extreme excitement each athlete was feeling. It's hard to comprehend just how hard these climbers work to be as physically strong, conditioned and as prepared as they are for these competitions--let alone factor in the grueling international travel.
Here's my breakdown of how my athletes did in the comp. Some athletes haven't been working with me as long or as much as is ideal. This is due mostly to the physical proximity of each climber. The only athlete that I was able to work with 5-6 days a week and for 3 hours each session consistently was Alex Johnson. As much as I wanted to see Nina, Daniel and Matty succeed it was just harder to get on a very consistent program and routine to give them exactly what they needed to be 100% ready. Despite this, they all performed well. However, I felt that Alex was the one that I had the most invested in, and she in me. We started way earlier then anyone else, and we hit it hard 5-6 days a week. I was with her for every single session, able to see her progress and continuously change the routines in order to keep up with her improvements. When you invest so much time into one athlete you have to be tough on them, you understand what's at stake on a very real level. You begin to share not only in their success but also in their failure; their strong days are your good days and when they feel weak you feel responsible. Throughout our training, she handled both encouragement and criticism with the grace you would expect from a world class athlete.
Alex took training seriously and did everything I asked of her. When Vail arrived I knew that she was as ready as she possibly could be. On day one, she showed everyone how hard she had worked when she was the only female athlete to flash all five qualifier problems! She came out, guns blazing and proved that she was a force to be reckoned with. Her performance came as a thrilling surprise to everyone who has watched her over the years. Not at the fact that she qualified for Semi-Finals but rather the confidence and poise she showed during qualifiers as she dominated the field and finished in first. You don't want to go to crazy over a first round performance because you know that your athlete has a long way to go before they achieve their ultimate goal, but I couldn't hold back my excitement. To her credit, Alex is quite modest when it comes to talking about her performance. Her mental toughness proved invaluable in the later semi-final and final rounds.
Semi-finals is where the pressure becomes the greatest as only six of the 20 climbers will advance to finals. Alex has a lot of talents as a competitor, but her ability to perform well under pressure time after time is something that will never cease to amaze me.
In Semi-Finals one mistake can mean game over. Alex did exactly what she needed to do. She kept her attempts to a minimum, and she flashed problems she knew she could flash. She even flashed a problem that I thought looked really powerful and thought she might have a problem with it. I watched as she basically told me "watch this" and saw her absolutely crush the problem without even making her "try hard face" (see pictures below).
While Alex was transitioning from semi problem #3 to #4 I saw her shaking her hand. This is often cause for alarm especially during an event. When a climber is shaking, rubbing and staring at their hand that's never a good thing as it usually means some kind of injuy. After watching her look at her hand she went up to problem #4 and flashed it.
As her trainer I was psyched knowing that she had secured her spot in finals, however, upon congratulating her, she replied "my hand is messed up--the pain is going all down my arm". This was a scary moment for both of us. Injuries are one of the scariest things an athlete can undergo. We got it looked at and it was apparent that there was no torn tendons but a definite strain on the inside of her hand. We only had a few hours to get her ready for finals. Alex received constant attention on her hand from her massage therapist, Kati Peters, while i did my best to keep her stretched out and warm for the big show.
When finals came Alex gave all that she had. She performed absolutely amazing and showed everyone that she had what it took to be a champion once again. Her goal was of course to make podium, but they have many different styles of routes in World Cup events for a reason: you must be the master of all techniques to truly separate yourself. Due to one climb that was in every way her anti style (a super compact problem), she ended up in fourth with only a few falls away from achieving her overall goal of first. This is still an impressive result.
I know how important it was for Alex to make top 3 but if she had gotten that one problem then she would have won the World Cup. Still, she breezed through qualifiers, crushed every problem in semi-finals and killed three of the four problems in finals, clearly displaying the incredible strength and fitness from years of hard work, fine-tuned through only seven weeks of training! This is a girl that just a few short months ago finished 5th at the US National competition. To go from that, to finishing 4th place against the best girls in the world and first for the USA team really is something to be proud of.
As gifted a climber as Alex naturally is, training is what enabled her to take her talents to the next level. Last year she competed in the World Cup Circuit but unfortunately was unable to reach her goals of finals in any of them. After the circuit ended last August she barely set foot into a climbing gym. She competed at US Nationals in February and in raw talent made finals but had hardly performed at the level she was capable of.
When I approached Alex about training, she was hesitant. Naturally, she had concerns trusting someone she hardly knew to train her at something she was already good at. Not only that but she would be blazing new trails. Currently there are very few, if any, professional climbers in America that actually spend five days a week with a strength and conditioning trainer. Alex took a big leap of faith when she agreed to work with me and is the main reason why I am experiencing the success that I am having in the climbing community. I owe her a great deal for accepting the challenge of training unreservedly. I am honored, and proud.
The amount of time I dedicated into Alex is what I want to offer all my athletes. For Daniel, Nina, Natasha, Matty, Courtney, Kati, Garret and all the future US athletes I train I want to spend time with them in the gym. I want them to come in, work hard and understand their potential. There is a reason why the Austrian National Anthem played 3 times at Vail. It played for the Women's champion (Anna Stor), the Men's champion (Killian) and it played for the winning overall country (Austria.) I want my athletes to experience having a medal put around their necks, to have an opportunity to hear the US National Anthem play for them. I want to see the US coach receive a medal for winning overall country.
It's more then taking first place. These athletes have the honor and privilege to represent their country in the World Cup Tour and hopefully, someday soon, the Olympics; the greatest honor a pro athlete can receive. Would it be that I had the opportunity, the experience, the strength and the skill to represent USA not only in World Cups but possibly in future Olympics. As it is, I'll live vicariously through each of my athletes. I want to see the American Climbing dream team! Alex Johnson, Daniel Woods, Alex Puccio, Angie Payne, Carlo Traversi, Paul Robinson, Nina Williams, Matty Hong, and the list goes on.
Agree or disagree, at the end of the day I'm a competitor and when I see these guys climb I see the competitiveness in them. People can keep saying that they love to climb outside and that it's just a "comp". But when you see these athletes climb, you can see they truly want to win and do well. When they don't they are disappointed. They really, really don't like failure.
For all the climbers out there that want to be a champion. Train like a champion. My goal remains the same: I am currently working on my business plan to send to USA Climbing and hopefully they like it. I've been contacted by The North Face and they are extremely interested in what I am trying to accomplish in the world of climbing and the athletes I am training. I am contacting businesses to get my climbers better sponsors. My intent is not to inflate my name. I am trying to be a difference maker.
Teva World Cup reminded me of what I want to accomplish. Meeting amazing new people and hanging out with friends from Boulder reminded me why I love the climbing community so much. Having the opportunity to see a sporting event like this, with such amazing people accomplishing such incredible feats reminded me much fiction there was in life's so-called 'impossibilities'.
Denver Fox Sports cuducting an interview with me on Alex's training.
Amazing athletes that we have representing the USA. They all did an amazing job and I'm psyched to see them continue.
After Finals I was told of an after party. It definitely lived up the the hype!
See you next year Teva World Cup!
