Brooke Raboutou

America’s First Olympian

- Delaney Miller

On August 18, Brooke Raboutou stepped up to the final qualifying route for the Combined World Championships in Hachioji, Japan. The stakes were as high as they get— Olympic qualification.

Raboutou barely moved, her eyes fixed on the plastic landscape ahead. The wall was 12 meters, but the route zigzagged to total 15 meters of steep resistance climbing. Her expression was quiet and of utter focus—no room for anything else. Her world had distilled down to this one wall, those 40 holds, those 10 motionless draws, and this chance ahead of her.

When she finally grabbed the start holds, she climbed quickly, with precise and fluid movements. Her feet danced one hold to the next while her hands steered the steady ascent. Upon reaching the headwall, she began shaking her way through final moves with gritted teeth and protruding elbows. By the time she was just a few moves from the finish, gravity won out, and it was clear there was nothing left in the tank.

An hour and a half later the results were in—Brooke Raboutou had finished in ninth, not enough for finals, but enough for a spot in the 2020 Olympics.

A week later I sat down with Raboutou at a small cafe in Boulder, Colorado, her hometown. We found a spot outside on a thin wire table with a view of the bustling parking lot and nearby restaurants. It was a warm and cloudy Thursday morning, and Raboutou was dressed in gym-session attire— running shorts, a tank top, and a light sweater.

“I’m headed to the Tension gym after this,” she said. “Then to dinner with friends and then maybe to CATs (another local climbing center) to just hang out with more friends.”