Brooke Raboutou is taking lessons from Tokyo as she eyes Paris 2024: 'It's just you and the wall'
The American isn't sweating a tall task at the approaching Olympic Qualifier Series, and is instead going back to her roots in outdoor climbing. She spoke one-on-one with Olympics.com.
Sport Climbing
"Please welcome the one, the only... Brooke Raboutou!"
As the venue emcee welcomes the U.S. sport climber to her home World Cup in Salt Lake, the 23-year-old Boulder, Colorado, native arrives to a roar from her compatriots - a climber enthusiast's welcome for... a climbing enthusiast.
"My dad has always said, 'It's just you and the wall,'" Raboutou tells Olympics.com in a recent exclusive interview. "Which is just a reminder that it's not about anybody else. It's just about me and giving myself to the boulders in front of me."
That approach rings more true than ever for Raboutou as she heads into the Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai next weekend (16-19 May), having yet to solidify her second Olympic berth for Paris 2024.
Having made her debut along with her sport at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, Raboutou is taking lessons from that first go around on the biggest stage on the globe - which she hopes will help her as she scales her way towards the OQS.
"In some ways it felt very, very different than other competitions, but it also felt similar," Raboutou says of Tokyo. "At the end of the day, it's just you and the wall and the climbs in front of you - and trying to perform your best and be in the moment.
She continued: "That stage really taught me the importance of my mental training and of being happy with who I am and finding a balance in life and using that to push my performance."
Brooke Raboutou: 'I'm competing out of pure passion'
Raboutou is the daughter of Didier Raboutou and Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou, well-known climbers who began ABC Kids Climbing, a youth-focused climbing program that is a one-of-a-kind - and where Raboutou grew up climbing in Boulder.
"ABC energy has been chaotic and wonderful since day one, so that hasn't changed too much," laughs Raboutou when asked about her beginnings in the sport. "We not only competed against each other, but we pushed each other to work hard... and we just had so much fun too."
"That whole philosophy has really just continued with me throughout my career," she added. "I'm competing out of pure passion - and that passion is continuing to grow and [I have] the want to learn more and more about the sport and what I'm capable of... and, just pushing myself."
Since Tokyo in 2021, Raboutou has continued to be a force on the international circuit, claiming bronze at the World Championships in 2023 in bouldering, having also won the bronze across both the 2022 and 2023 seasons in the discipline, as well.
As Paris draws nearer, Raboutou hopes to summon that same kind of kid-like energy to help her secure a spot for Paris. She goes back to another saying - this one from her mum.
"'Do what you love and love what you do,'" she says. "My mum would always say that... I am grateful that my work is climbing. And it's what I love to do. And what I love to do gets to be my work."
Raboutou is an outdoor climber at heart
Thanks to her beginnings in a climbing family, Raboutou's wall is sometimes that of an international World Cup - and other times the face of a rock at one of her favourite locations close to home in Colorado - or as far away as France.
"As much as I compete, I also love outdoor climbing," she said. "I just love getting to be outside and really connect with nature, be with family and friends - or sometimes even solo.
"There's just something about it that really motivates me, wanting to get to the top of the climb and really being there for the boulder itself... for the simple act of just like being outdoors and feeding my soul with all that good energy."
That good energy is something Raboutou attempts to put onto the competition wall, even as she faces mounting pressure.
For her, it's going back to the connection with the boulder. That's why she started in the first place.
"Sometimes it's go out and try the hardest climb possible," she said. "And sometimes it's just to do really easy climbs and fall in love with the movement and get lost in the outdoors. Every trip outdoors can look different, which is why it's super special."