Kyra Condie-The 24-year-old is one of the first U.S. women to qualify for climbing as an Olympic sport, but her career nearly ended before it started.
Written content by Emma Baccellieri for Sports Illustrated
There is a version of the Kyra Condie narrative that reads a bit like a superhero origin story.
First, you have a baby who climbed—on her family, on furniture, everything. Her parents had to take her out of her crib early because she wouldn’t stop climbing out of it. A bit later, in one of her more memorable climbs as a toddler, she ended up on top of the refrigerator. So when 10-year-old Kyra learned that climbing could be a sport, rather than just a free-range activity, it felt like destiny.
But it became clear that something was wrong shortly after she joined her first climbing team. Her back hurt. Some positions on the wall seemed impossible for her. And a visit to the doctor showed that it was more serious than anyone had guessed: Her spine had a 70-degree curve, like an S, due to severe idiopathic scoliosis that would require surgery. The first doctor who examined her did not leave any room to negotiate on what this meant for her future: No climbing ever again.
She begged her parents to seek a different medical team, and eventually, they found second and third opinions with a different vision: Her back would not be able to bend or twist at all from the bottom of her neck to the base of her rib cage, but if she wanted, she could still climb.
In 2010, a few months before she turned 14, Condie underwent surgery to fuse 10 vertebrae. She was able to start climbing again later that year—and she quickly became better than she’d ever shown the potential to be before the procedure. As she advanced, she outgrew the coaching that was available by her home in Shoreview, Minn., so she coached herself with hours of solo sessions.
At 23, she became one of the first U.S. women to qualify for climbing as an Olympic sport. Read more from Sports Illustrated.
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