The USA Olympic Team Is Complete – Brooke Raboutou Is Going to Paris
Raboutou won gold at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest, earning her Olympic ticket
Photo by: Lena Drapella/IFSC
Yesterday, as the final Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) came to a close, Team USA member Brooke Raboutou stood atop the women’s Boulder & Lead podium. She had a standout performance across the two OQS events in Shanghai and Budapest. In Shanghai last month, she placed first in Boulder and fourth in Lead, earning her a first place finish overall. In Budapest, she had an even betting showing, placing second in Boulder and first in Lead, earning her the gold and the title of Olympic Qualifier Series champion. She earned a perfect 50 points in both Shanghai and Budapest, easily securing her spot in the Paris Olympics next month.
Paris will be Raboutou’s second Olympics appearance. She competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she placed fifth overall. Raboutou joins teammates Natalia Grossman, Colin Duffy, and Jesse Grupper in representing the United States at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games.
“It’s hard to believe, I’m incredibly happy,” said Raboutou after the OQS finals. “It’s been a hard journey. I missed some chances to qualify. So it was panic no, stress yes. It’s been a lot of heartbreak and a lot of growth. Honestly, I am grateful for it all. They say the harder the journey the better it feels, and I could not feel that more. I am incredibly proud about how much each stage taught me. I’ve had really good performances.”
Eight climbers faced off in the women’s Boulder & Lead final in Budapest. The Olympic ticket pressure was off for all eight women as they had all secured an Olympic Qualifying spot based on their semi-finals performance. The finals therefore served as a chance to gain experience and confidence for the climbers. They had to be careful not to get injured though, as the Olympics begin in a little less than a month.
The Boulder round came first, and it was a fun one, with a series of difficult problems. Raboutou easily topped the first three problems of the evening. She reached the high zone on the fourth problem, but was unable to secure a top. Miho Nonaka of Japan topped all four problems, besting Raboutou in the round. Nonaka’s performance was tenacious, often topping problem with less than 20 seconds left in her time limit. Ievgeniia Kazbekova of Ukraine appeared to suffer a left knee injury early in the round from a nasty heel hook. She returned to the stage taped up, but it was evident the knee was affecting her performance.
Moving into the Lead round, Nonanka had a near-perfect 98.9 points and Raboutou had 83.8. Great Britain’s Erin McNeice held the third spot with 69.4 points after two tops and four high zones. Early in the Lead round, Italy’s Laura Rogora secured an impressive highpoint on the wall of 76 points. Nonaka put in a solid performance, earning 57.1 points, which moved her into first place overall. Raboutou came out last and matched Rogora’s highpoint. This finish gave her enough points for the victory, overtaking Nonaka’s overall standing by 3.8 points. It was a close finish – if Raboutou had fallen one hold lower, Nonaka would have placed first.
“We’re really good friends,” said Raboutou about competing alongside Nonaka. “I don’t know if rivalry is the right word, but we are competitors. So it’s fun to want the best for each other, but also to show our best, that’s what we want. We can fight for it and push each other on. I’m so excited she is going back to the Olympics again, there are so many Olympians there that I am proud to share the stage with.”
With the two rounds over, Raboutou earned gold with 159.8 points, Nonaka earned silver with 156 points, and McNeice bronze with 137.5 points. You can view the detailed Boulder, Lead, and overall results below. Keep in mind that all eight finalists earned their Olympic ticket at the OQS. Four other women who didn’t make the finals also earned their Paris qualifying spot: Lucia Dorffel of Germany, Zelia Avezou of France, Camilla Moroni of Italy, and Molly Thompson-Smith of Great Britain.
Boulder Results
- Miho Nonaka [JPN] (T4 HZ4 LZ4 15 9 4)
- Brooke Raboutou [USA] (T3 HZ4 LZ4 6 16 6)
- Erin McNeice [GBR] (T2 HZ4 LZ4 6 8 5)
- Zhilu Luo [CHN] (T2 HZ4 LZ4 10 19 9)
- Ievgeniia Kazbekova [UKR] (T1 HZ1 LZ4 5 5 5)
- Chaehyun Seo [KOR] (T0 HZ3 LZ4 0 25 11)
- Mia Krampl [SLO] (T0 HZ2 LZ3 0 7 6)
- Laura Rogora [ITA] (T0 HZ0 LZ3 0 0 8)
Lead Results
1 – Brooke Raboutou [USA] 41
1 – Laura Rogora [ITA] 41
3 – Chaehyun Seo [KOR] 40+
4 – Erin McNeice [GBR] 39+
5 – Miho Nonaka [JPN] 36+
5 – Mia Krampl [SLO] 36+
7 – Zhilu Luo [CHN] 35
8- Ievgeniia Kazbekova [UKR] 29
Final Results
- Brooke Raboutou [USA] 159.8
- Miho Nonaka [JPN] 156.0
- Erin McNeice [GBR] 137.5
- Zhilu Luo [CHN] 122.5
- Chaehyun Seo [KOR] 104.9
- Laura Rogora [ITA] 90.5
- Mia Krampl [SLO] 81.6
- Ievgeniia Kazbekova [UKR] 75.5
OQS Olympic Qualified Athletes
- Brooke RABOUTOU (USA)
- SEO Chaehyun (KOR)
- Erin MCNEICE (GBR)
- NONAKA Miho (JPN)
- Ievgeniia KAZBEKOVA (UKR)
- LUO Zhilu (CHN)
- Mia KRAMPL (SLO)
- Laura ROGORA (ITA)
- Lucia DORFFEL (GER)
- Zelia AVEZOU (FRA)
- Camilla MORONI (ITA)
- Molly THOMPSON-SMITH (GBR)
To learn more about the Olympic Qualifier Series – the format, the competitors, and the points system – read our in-depth explainer here. You can watch the Budapest OQS Women’s Boulder Final here and the Women’s Lead Final here.
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