Kyra Condie: "Resilience has been my superpower in climbing and life"
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, the USA star reveals how sport climbing helped her overcome bullying and how she rebounded from serious back surgery to become an Olympian.
Sport Climbing
Overcoming problems comes as second nature to sport climbing star Kyra Condie.
The US athlete endured several tough experiences early in life, including a moment at middle school where she underwent spinal fusion surgery at age 13.
“I remember my surgery really, really vividly,” Condie told Olympics.com.
“It was from two until 12, so ten vertebrae fused together to fix my idiopathic scoliosis. So I grew into having a really bent back and needed the surgery to fix it.
“It was really painful, really stressful, especially for my parents. We didn't know what it meant for my climbing and how it would impact that in the future.”
Fast forward to 2024, and Condie is a Pan American Games champion and Olympian who will take part in the Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai with hopes of competing at Paris 2024.
How Kyra Condie overcame bullying at school
To appreciate the depth of Condie’s achievements, one must first fully understand how difficult her time at school was.
Even before her serious surgery, she was being bullied in part for taking part in a sport that not many of her peers understood.
*“*I think middle school for basically anybody is kind of a tough time,” she continued.
“I think a lot of people didn't understand that climbing was a sport, and so that was something that didn't really resonate with people when everyone else was on these team sports.
“I was also a vegetarian, so that's something that made me different and I think I just have a personality that's always been very determined and not easily shaken.”
But Condie decided that she would not be defined by these negative experiences.
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 04: Kyra Condie of The United States of America during the Sport Climbing Women's Combined, Bouldering Qualification on day twelve of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Aomi Urban Sports Park on August 04, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
In fact, they only served to harden her resolve, and ironically built the foundations of her career as an elite athlete.
“I have always been a very determined person, so I was very confident that the injury wasn't going to affect my climbing ability in the future. But I think everyone else around me was a little bit more stressed about that," she said.
*“*I only took four months off after the surgery because it's just healing the bone. The hardest part was honestly learning how to move with having your back be all one bone. I do notice it when I'm climbing a lot, but I've found a lot of ways to do moves that people do other ways now.
*“*I think my approach to climbing definitely changed because I had to be a lot stronger because I couldn't do these weird moves to get around some positions that a lot of people and my competitors are able to do. I had to get really, really strong, I guess."
Becoming a continental climbing champion
Those closest to the climbing prodigy did not need to be concerned.
In 2018, Condie became the Pan American Games combined champion before competing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The comeback was very much greater than the setback, thanks to her ability to persevere through adversity.
“I think that's been a superpower in my climbing and just life in general. But I would say to most people, if they're having a tough time in middle school or high school, I think it does end eventually. And so you have something to look forward to in the future.
*“*Climbing has always given me a community where I feel like I really belong. And that's something I think that has been incredibly important, especially during those hard times that you maybe have in middle school or high school.
“You always have this safe space in the gym where you feel connected, and even if it's not with the other people around you, it's with the wall and the climbs that you're doing and feeling stronger and more confident. Climbing has always been that rock for me” - Kyra Condie to Olympics.com.
Why Kyra Condie loves a mental challenge
While the physical traits of strength, agility and power are mandatory requirements in climbing, these factors will mean very little at the elite level unless combined with the ability to problem solve.
On top of her athletic ability and resilient attitude, Condie’s aptitude for the psychological test of sport climbing helped to propel her to the top of the sport.
“I've always loved solving puzzles, and I think that's really what always drew me to climbing,” she revealed.
“You're staring at the wall and trying to figure out what you're supposed to do when you fall. Sometimes that's a clue to the puzzle. You have to use that information to then figure out what you're going to do on the next drive or even do the same thing again and figure out that balance.
“My family is a very logical, puzzle-based family. So we would do jigsaw puzzles at Christmas. I would always try to solve logic puzzles with my dad on aeroplanes or just sitting around doing Sudoku or logic problems.”
Unsurprisingly, Condie did not struggle in the classroom.
She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2018, and is currently enrolled in an online master’s programme through the University of Florida in Shelter Medicine, with the ambition to ‘one day go to veterinary school’.
Outside of the classroom and her sport, the athlete also finds time to give back by teaching refugees in Utah to climb. In this way, she is able to empower these women, using the sport as a way to foster confidence and self-esteem.
In many ways, the nature of climbing is emblematic of Condie’s life.
She has been caught in difficult situations that have required plenty of mental strength and a never-say-die attitude to overcome.
Not only did she survive, but she is thriving, and continues to be an inspiration to many, both on and off the wall.
"Sometimes it's not going well on the wall and you have to turn it around. Sometimes it's going really well and you have to not let yourself get ahead of yourself," she said.
"Being able to centre yourself and be in the community and focus really just makes you a more well-rounded person. And if you're happy in life, you're going to be more happy in sport as well. That's something that I've really tried to live by."
You can watch Kyra Condie compete the Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices (territorial restrictions may apply).