Climbing
Climber Natalia Grossman on beating struggles to reach best career moments
The US climbing champion is blazing a trail with her exceptional skills. These are Natalia Grossman's top career moments – so far!
Over the last few years, Natalia Grossman has become one of the most decorated athletes in the history of climbing. With multiple World Cup wins under her belt, the professional climber has raised the bar on the height of success. If the titles and championships weren’t a factor, though, she’d still be on the lookout for her next boulder.
“Even if I couldn’t compete, I would still climb, because I love to climb,” Grossman said in a 2023 episode of the Reel Rock series. Watch the episode below...
23 min
Smile and fight
Can big wall climber Natalia Grossman handle the pressure of defending her IFSC World Cup Champion title?
Grossman’s competitive career has been filled with far more highs than lows. In the moments when she’s struggled, though, reminding herself of her fundamental love of climbing has given her all the power she needs. To learn more about how this climbing champion is blazing a trail with her exceptional skills, read ahead for those career moments.
01
Early days
Although Grossman’s rapid ascent in international climbing rankings is fairly recent, climbing has been a nearly lifelong passion for her. She was introduced to the sport of climbing in a Santa Cruz, California climbing gym at just six years old. It was love at first climb.
For a while, Grossman balanced climbing with gymnastics, which she’d been doing since age three. By age 11, though, it was clear that climbing was meant to be her number-one priority. Still, the highly competitive environment of her first sport proved to be perfect training for her professional climbing future.
02
Team ABC and youth competitions
Natalia Grossman is a climber on the rise
© Erich Spiess/ASP/Red Bull Content Pool
Grossman joined her first climbing team, the Berkeley, California-based Zero Gravity, while she was still a North California teen. When the team disbanded in 2014, Grossman was quick to find a new climbing home. Her athletic dreams led her and her family to move to Boulder, Colorado so she could join Team ABC, among the best youth climbing squads. Now, climbing greats that Grossman had been competing against, such as Brooke Raboutou, were her team-mates.
03
Collecting comp medals
The year 2019 marked a turning point for Grossman. That year, she became a serious contender in the big leagues of climbing competitions, also known as comps. She started the year by taking home silver medals in the bouldering and combined disciplines at the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships. That same year, the then-17-year-old Grossman swept the National Cup Series domestic bouldering discipline and qualified for the Boulder World Cup semi-finals.
04
Bouldering breakthrough: Grossman’s star season
The year 2020 was another excellent year for Grossman, who came in first in the USA Climbing Bouldering Open National Championship. No one could have predicted, though, just how much of an impact Grossman was about to make on the following IFSC Climbing World Cup season.
Natalia Grossman in Salt Lake City
© Daniel Milchev / Red Bull Content Pool
To say Grossman had a breakout year in 2021 almost seems like an understatement. She ended all her bouldering events that year on the World Cup podium — two gold medals in Salt Lake City and bronze in Meiringen, Switzerland. The climbing world especially took notice when she beat Janja Garnbret, a Slovenian climber who had been undefeated since 2018. Shortly after, Grossman won another bouldering gold medal and four podium placements total at the World Championships in Moscow.
Each of these victories added up to Grossman’s crowning as the new world #1 in bouldering, but that wasn’t her only world title that year. She also finished on the podium in four lead climbing World Cup events, resulting in her ranking as the second-best lead climber in the world.
05
Competitive record and coping with success
Natalia Grossman competes in Innsbruck
© Erich Spiess/ASP/Red Bull Content Pool
The more I succeed, the more pressure I feel to keep succeeding
Grossman’s short time on the World Cup Circuit has earned her 14 top-three placements, including seven gold medals. 2021 remains her best World Championship year, with a gold in bouldering and a silver in lead. Although she didn’t make it to the 2023 World Championship podium, she still ended the year with two gold medals from IFSC Bouldering World Cups and a gold medal from the Pan American Games.
While Grossman has plenty to celebrate, sometimes the mountain of medals can be bittersweet. She admits that winning over and over again can be anxiety-inducing. “The more I succeed, the more pressure I feel to keep succeeding,” she says.
When the pressure gets to be too much, Grossman’s best fitness tip is to stay calm and recenter herself. She says that she reminds herself that the ups and downs are all part of the package.
“I think it’s good to experience the good and the bad,” she says. “Even when everything seems to go wrong, it can sometimes still be enough." A positive force in the climbing community Grossman’s signature smile beams bright at climbing gyms all over the world’s competitive stages. If anything, her radiant positivity has become as well-known in the climbing community as her titles and medals. But perhaps what’s most inspiring about Grossman is her ability to pull herself back up when she’s not feeling so cheerful.
Natalia Grossman at the IFSC Climbing World Cup 2022
© Erich Spiess / ASP / Red Bull Content Pool
Her big comeback moment at the 2022 World Cup is a perfect example. Whereas most would’ve expected her to feel on top of the world after her 2021 success, she felt like she had everything to lose. The nerves got to her in the semi-finals, during which she struggled to reach the top boulder... she was losing the joy of climbing during that World Cup.
“All of a sudden, it was all about winning, and it just wasn't fun,” she says. “I had no confidence. I just wanted to give up. … Why don’t I believe in myself? I know what I can do. I just have to remember why I’m competing in the first place.”
She did exactly that. By the time she returned to the next World Cup (a few weeks later), she had readjusted her attitude and solidified her drive and determination to just have fun. It showed in her performance. After this win, Grossman solidified her place as the American climber with the most comp wins of all time.
Back on the podium
© Erich Spiess / ASP / Red Bull Content Pool
06
Grossman’s rise continues
Winning might put more pressure on Grossman, but that’s not deterring her from setting her sights on even greater heights in the climbing comp world. Whether on the world stage or while training at home, Grossman gives every climb her best effort. Although her future is unwritten, she’s excited to tackle new territory every chance she gets.
“I’m proud that I’m not scared of the unknown,” she says. “I have these goals and I’m not scared to work for them.”