How Champion Climber Natalia Grossman Is Getting Ready For Paris 2024

Champion climber Natalia Grossman is headed to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, only the second time ever that the sport has been played at the Olympic level.

She earned herself a spot by taking home the gold at the Pan American Games Santiago 2023, just two years after her breakout season in 2021, in which she competed in her first World Cup circuit. 

That year, she earned a gold in bouldering and a silver in lead at the World Championship. ("I had a very good year," she humbly told me during our chat.) The 22-year-old California native has been climbing since she was just 6 years old—but it wasn't until that pivotal year that she considered a future as a professional athlete. 

"Honestly, it didn't come until very late. I never thought it was something I could do professionally," she said when I asked her about the moment she realized she wanted to dedicate herself to the sport. "But after that season, all of a sudden I was like, Whoa I could be a climber." 

Natalia Grossman: During training season and competition season, I like to meditate and visualize. Those are two tools I use to mentally get ready. After, I like to journal about my session—how I felt, what I did, and all of those emotions. 

Then, of course, having people who I can talk to is incredibly important—such as my coach, my physical therapist, and my parents. I am very, very close with my parents, especially my mom. So just being able to tell her what's on my mind helps me immensely. I also work with a sports psychologist sometimes. 

Grossman: As a climber, I use a lot of energy. Before competitions, I like to have lots of carbs. Throughout the competition, just for quick energy, I like having simple sugars—even things like gummy bears and gels. 

Grossman: Obviously, good food and sleep is very helpful. But then I have a team to support me: I have a physio, a chiropractor, and I try to see a sports masseuse once a week. 

Grossman: I like to have a good balance with my sport and then with recovery time. But even during that recovery time when I'm not climbing, I'll be doing something that's ultimately helping me with my climbing.

So I really enjoy having days where I just don't think about climbing at all. I try to keep it separate and have a life outside of climbing—because there have definitely been times when my whole life revolved around climbing. 

So I like to read and paint. Those are two hobbies I've gotten into more in the past year or two. 

Grossman: I'm a pretty supportive teammate. And I think that goes a long way. I've definitely had teammates who have been very supportive and also not so supportive.