Kyra CONDIE

American born Kyra Condie was one of four climbers selected to represent Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The journey to qualification, however, did not come without its challenges.

Condie was climbing almost as soon as she could crawl – whether it was to get out of her crib or up the refrigerator, she was drawn to it.

At just 13 years old, however, Condie was forced to make a life-altering decision. She needed back surgery for severe idiopathic scoliosis. But after a surgeon told her that climbing wasn’t that important in comparison, in her true-to-self determined nature, Condie sought out a different surgeon that would give her climbing hopes life.

And after a successful surgery, the 25-year-old was able to begin thinking about climbing again. With the difficulty she has twisted her body as a result of her fused spine, Condie relies heavily on her strength to scale walls.

All of her extensive competing finally came to fruition at the 2018 Pan-American Games where Condie won her first gold medal. She also won a further gold medal at the U.S. Climbing Combined Invitation in 2019. That, and finish 25th at the World Championships in the same year, helped her bid to qualify for the Games. And a decade on from her surgery, Kyra Condie qualified for the Olympics with Team USA.