Natalia Grossman Shines With Another Bouldering Medal In Switzerland

Natalia Grossman celebrates winning the IFSC Climbing World Cup Salt Lake City on May 22, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Coming off a breakout 2021, sport climber Natalia Grossman opened the 2022 world cup season by claiming a silver medal in bouldering Saturday in Meiringen, Switzerland.
The 20-year-old from Boulder, Colorado, recorded three tops and four zones throughout the competition to finish just shy of winner Janja Garnbret of Slovenia, a multi-time world champion who claimed the sport’s first Olympic women’s gold medal last summer at the Tokyo Games. Switzerland’s Andrea Kumin placed third.
Olympian Colin Duffy was the lone U.S. man to reach Sunday’s final, and he finished fifth.
The weekend’s result continues the streak of strong performances from Grossman, a University of Colorado student.
In May 2021 she won back-to-back world cups in Salt Lake City, in the process becoming the first person to beat Garnbret in bouldering since 2018. Grossman continued to collect top-three finishes at the world cup level in the bouldering and lead disciplines. Then, in September, she became the first American to win a sport climbing world title in 26 years when she won the bouldering event in Moscow. She also claimed the silver medal in lead.
The only thing missing was a trip to Tokyo for the sport’s Olympic debut. In Olympic climbing, athletes competed in a combined event featuring the three major disciplines.