Ashima and Kai light it up at the Ring of Fire

The 2014 Ring of Fire Climbing Competition’s final round was on May 3 at Central Rock in Watertown M.A.

The two young crushers who have been making headlines of late, Kai Lightner and Ashima Shiraishi, took top spots in the open category, an amazing performance by two inspirational athletes.

Video of Lightner on Southern Smoke

Video of Ashima Shiraishi on Warrior Princes

This was 13-year-old Shiraishi’s first rope competition. She tied with Delaney Miller on the final female’s route and they went head-to-head on the men’s final route. Shiraishi climbed to the same high point as Lightner which was higher than Daniel Woods climbed, not bad for her first comp of that style. The 14-year-old Lightner, who is as tall other competitors that are much older, made a number of wild moves on the finals route. For a complete report on the comp, see here.

“WOW!! Does anyone remember when Chris Sharma won his first National event at the tender age of 14? The year was 1995. Now,  almost 20 years later, another climbing phenom Kai Lightner stands on top of the podium amongst some of the strongest free climbers in America. Hell Ya.” – Sonnie Trotter’s Facebook

Source: Crux Crush, Kai Lightner, Central Rock