Natalia Grossman Qualifies for the 2024 Paris Olympics

Team USA’s Natalia Grossman is off to the Paris Olympics in Summer 2024. Yesterday, at the women’s Boulder & Lead Combined final at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Grossman won both a gold medal and an Olympic qualifying spot. She crushed the Boulder round, being the only woman to top three out of the four problems. On the fourth problem, she got heartbreakingly close to scoring a top, with her hand touching the final hold, but failing to latch.

With her Boulder round finish of 84.3 points, Grossman moved into the Lead round well ahead of her other competitors. Brooke Raboutou trailed in second with 69.4 points, with Alannah Yip close behind her in third with 64.7. Grossman had an excellent Lead performance, falling near the top of the route and earning 88.1 points. This mathematically secured her first-place finish, as even if Raboutou was to top the route, she wouldn’t gain enough points to best Grossman.

“My friend Oscar was holding his finger up, like, ‘First!’, and I almost didn’t believe it,” said Grossman, reliving the immediate moments after her Lead climb. “I wanted to wait until I saw it, just because people tend to say things before they happen. It was a very surreal moment!”

With the conclusion of the Lead round, Grossman stood atop the podium with gold medal and Olympic ticket in hand. Her teammate Raboutou won silver and Canadian Yip won bronze.  Team USA member Annie Sanders placed fourth.

“I feel just so grateful and proud of all the work I have put in,” said Grossman after her win. “I changed a lot in this past couple of months, in my climbing and in my life, and to see it pay off feels really good.”

Grossman is one of the best competitive climbers in the world. She had her breakout year on the World Cup scene in 2021, earning two Boulder World Cup gold medals, the overall Boulder World Cup season, and the Boulder World Championship. In 2022, she again won the overall season for Boulder, picking up five World Cup golds along the way. This year, she struggled at the beginning of the season due to illness but she still ended up winning two Boulder gold medals and the overall season for the third year in a row.

With this Pan Am Games victory, Grossman joins Jesse Grupper and Colin Duffy on Team USA for the Paris Olympics. Future competitions will determine who joins Grossman on Team USA for the women’s Boulder & Lead Combined event in Paris.

Final Results

1. Natalia Grossman 172.4 (USA)
2. Brooke Raboutou 165.4 (USA)
3. Alannah Yip 128.7 (CAN)
4. Annie Sanders 115.1 (USA)
5. Alejandra Contreras 91.5 (CHI)
6. Valentina Aguado 88.8 (ARG)
7. Rebecca Frangos 86.4 (CAN)
8. Indiana Chapman 85.8 (CAN)

Boulder Results

1. Natalia Grossman 84.3 (USA)
2. Brooke Raboutou 69.4 (USA)
3. Alannah Yip 64.7 (CAN)
4. Annie Sanders 39.0 (USA)
5. Valentina Aguado 34.8 (ARG)
6. Indiana Chapman 34.7 (CAN)
7. Alejandra Contreras 34.5 (CHI)
8. Rebecca Frangos 29.3 (CAN)

Lead Results

1. Brooke Raboutou 96 (USA)
2. Natalia Grossman 88.1 (USA)
3. Annie Sanders 76.1 (USA)
4. Alannah Yip 64 (CAN)
5. Rebecca Frangos 57.1 (CAN)
6. Alejandra Contreras 57 (CHI)
7. Valentina Aguado 54 (ARG)
8. Indiana Chapman 51.1 (CAN)