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Piper Kelly

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Kelly with a silver medal at the 2019 US Sport & Speed Open National Championships

Piper Kelly (born 1999) is an American competition climber who specializes in competition speed climbing. She won a gold medal in her event at the 2023 Pan American Games and is part of the 2024 US Olympic Team.

Early life and education[edit]

Kelly was born on October 3, 1999, in Indianapolis,[1] began climbing at age seven,[2] and began competing in climbing at age 12.[3] After graduating from Irvington Prep Academy in Indianapolis,[2] she majored in exercise science as a student at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.[4][5] She credits her small class sizes at Xavier for allowing her to focus on the biomechanics of climbing in her studies.[5] She graduated in 2023, with minors in psychology and Spanish.[4]

Competition results[edit]

She has three international podiums, all first place.[6] At the 2017 Pan American Youth Climbing Championships in Montreal, Canada, she placed first in the Juniors category.[7] At the 2018 International Federation of Sport Climbing Pan American Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador, she won the speed championship at the senior level.[4] After repeated shoulder dislocations,[1] she took a break from competing for nearly two years beginning in 2020 for shoulder surgery.[2] At the 2023 Pan American Games, she was the gold medalist in the women's speed climbing event, after the top seed, her teammate Emma Hunt, suffered a false start in the final race. Kelly had to re-run the race alone after the false start, achieving her personal best official time, 7.52 seconds.[8] She has climbed as fast as 6.57 seconds unofficially.[9] As of 2024, her ranking from IFSC World Cup events places her 9th in the world among women speed climbers.[6]

2024 Olympics[edit]

In 2019, when she won the youth nationals, she already stated "I'm not ruling it out" regarding competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics.[10] Her win at the 2023 Pan Am Games gave her a place on the US Olympic team, part of the sport climbing event there,[3] as one of only 14 competitors in women's speed.[5] As Hunt already had a ticket from winning the World Championships earlier in the year, Kelly secured her position in the Olympics by reaching the final race against Hunt, even before she won.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Payne, Laura (May 31, 2024), "Piper Kelly", Britannica, retrieved 2024-07-09
  2. ^ a b c Piper Kelly's climb to the Olympics started in Indianapolis, WTHR, November 14, 2023, retrieved 2024-07-09
  3. ^ a b Benbow, Dana Hunsinger (December 13, 2023), "'Nothing's out of reach:' Indy's speed climber phenom Piper Kelly headed to Paris Olympics", Indianapolis Star, retrieved 2024-07-09
  4. ^ a b c "Olympics 2024: Piper Kelly", UK Climbing, retrieved 2024-07-09
  5. ^ a b c Burke, Addison (April 23, 2024), "Climbing to The Highest Stage: Piper Kelly Heads to The Olympics", Xavier Newswire, retrieved 2024-07-10
  6. ^ a b "Piper Kelly", Athlete profiles, International Federation of Sport Climbing, retrieved 2024-07-09
  7. ^ "Montreal Pan-Am Youth Championships 2017 Results", Gripped, November 6, 2017, retrieved 2024-07-09
  8. ^ a b Miller, Delaney (October 21, 2023), "American Speed Climber Piper Kelly Punches Ticket to Olympics", Climbing, retrieved 2024-07-09
  9. ^ Kelly, Piper (June 28, 2024), "6.567 go fast hype session", Instagram, retrieved 2024-07-10
  10. ^ Benbow, Dana Hunsinger (April 9, 2019), "Indy's speed climbing phenom Piper Kelly, 19, ranked among best in the world", Indianapolis Star, retrieved 2024-07-09

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Piper Kelly.
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