VAIL — Like many 20-year-old elite athletes and champions, Colorado State University sophomore Alex Johnson aspires toward the pinnacle of competition. And in many ways, she achieves it on a daily basis.
Johnson is a competitive rock climber, in the loosest definition of the word “rock” and strictest definition of “competitive.” The long, lithe athlete is among the nation’s best at solving the so-called “problems” set up through an enigmatic arrangement of finger and toeholds on artificial climbing walls for contests such as Saturday’s International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Bouldering World Cup, where she finished second in the women’s division behind friend Alex Puccio of Boulder.
“For the Americans, this is the hardest competition of the year,” said Johnson, who won the event when it was first introduced at the Teva Mountain Games a year ago. “It’s a huge deal. It’s big for climbing in the U.S., because it showcases what we do and what our sport is, and hopefully it brings more people in, because our biggest goal is the Olympics.”
Saturday marked only the second time that either of the top two female finishers had taken part in a World Cup competition. And while it may strike some as unusual that relative rookies to the sport’s apex of international competition can casually stroll in and show the world who’s boss, the situation makes sense when one realizes that Saturday’s competition was only the second time in 21 years the U.S. has hosted a World Cup event. Last year was the first.
“To have a World Cup here is not only good for us, it’s good for the world,” said Debbie Gawrych, a former president of Boulder-based USA Climbing. “That means we can actually move toward the Olympics. To not have a World Cup in the U.S., imagine going to the (International Olympic Committee) and being asked, ‘Which city in the U.S. hosts the World Cup?’ To say, ‘Oh, we don’t have one,’ well, forget it. You’re out of here.”
USA Climbing hosts almost 280 contests annually as the national governing body for the competitive sport. But to date, the group’s primary focus has been building a national presence, rather than an international one, Gawrych said. As sport climbing blossoms in the world arena, however, that focus is shifting.
More than 20 nations were represented in Vail this past weekend. And whether top Americans will be able to find the funding to compete, the world championship is scheduled in China next month, followed by a return to the World Games in Taiwan later this summer. The World Cup is scheduled to return to the Teva Mountain Games for the next three years.
“It’s been popular in Europe for years. Now it has become very popular in the Asian community, and I expect it will continue to grow,” said Keith Ferguson, executive director of USA Climbing. “Over here, we’re really excited, and we’re growing significantly. We just started our college series and ended up with 35 schools signing up to host an event the very first year. It’s doing very well.”
One glance at the audience surrounding the massive climbing wall at the foot of Vail Mountain on Saturday revealed the sport’s crowd-pleasing potential. Spectators numbering in the thousands — the largest crowd at the four-day festival — watched while Puccio, 20, climbed to the top of the podium as the only woman among six finalists able to top out on all four routes. Johnson finished a close second, allowing a repeat victory to slip through her fingers as she lost her grip an arm’s length from the top of the final route and fell 15 feet to the mat below. Akiyo Noguchi of Japan was third.
“I was surprised. I went into finals in last place, sixth out of all the girls,” Puccio said of her win secured on the final — and hardest — move in the competition. “I’ve been on problems that are just as hard, but overall this contest is harder because there’s more pressure. But all in all you just couldn’t make a mistake.”
American climber Daniel Woods of Boulder learned that lesson on the men’s side, finishing second behind Jonas Baumann of Germany when it took Woods, 19, one more attempt than Baumann to successfully solve all four climbing problems. Austrian Kilian Fischhuber, who won this event in 2008, finished third, while Americans Paul Robinson and Kyle Owen finished fourth and fifth, solidifying an overall team victory for the U.S. for the second year in a row.
“(Winning) just legitimizes the United States’ efforts,” said Boulder climbing icon Timmy O’Neill, who emceed the event. “It’s on our home turf, so do we have an advantage? Absolutely. We’re allowed to have more climbers in the competition, so we’re able to score more points. But we brought the most talented climbers into the finals. Our people are talented, and getting them up on the podium, winning, furthers our efforts here.”
As for the competitors, true to form, they’re not stopping until they reach the top. They’re still hanging on to that Olympic dream.
“We’re trying,” Johnson said. “2020 is what I’ve heard, 2016 if we’re lucky. I just hope I’m not too old.”
Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com
