Climbing

First All-Female Yosemite Triple Crown completed by Laura Pineau, Kate Kelleghan

June 19, 2025 by Tara S

On June 8, 2025, Kate Kelleghan hit the anchor as I hit my stopwatch on the summit of Half Dome, completing the first female ascent of the Yosemite Triple Crown, the clock reading 23 hours and 36 minutes. This feat includes climbing Mount Watkins, El Capitan, and Half Dome in a single push. It was type-2 fun, type-1 madness, and master level hydration strategy.

Let’s be real: the main goal wasn’t just to climb the Triple. It was to beat the clock. The 20 men before us had all wrapped it up in under 24 hours. So, of course, we would prefer to pursue the same in-a-day style if possible. Cue the spreadsheets, the training schedules, the absurd number of bars we’d test on our digestive systems. We weren’t just climbing. We were becoming machines—hydrated, sleep-tracked, over-prepared machines.

Ultra-Marathon Strategy but for Vertical Walls
Over six weeks in the Valley, we lived by the data of our Coros activity, health, and recovery tracking. Our training schedule was an endless loop of climb a big wall, try to rest, climb another big wall and then check our Coros watches to see if we were out of the “”excessive training zone” yet.

Electrolytes became our religion. High carb water? The future. Cramps? The past. In our final scheduled week of training, we finally reached our goal times on each wall: The Nose – 7h05 (goal 7hr), Half Dome – 6h05 (goal: 6hr), Watkins – 4h47 (goal:5hr). And just like that, the Triple in 24 hours started looking… possible.

Logistics: 20 Humans, 47 Snack Packs, and a Meteorological Gamble
We took a “rest week,” which in climber-speak means “stress week.” With help from a 20-person support team (yes, we went full Tour de France), we choreographed every snack, swig, and shoe change across three walls. We had all of our water packed for the day, gear transitions smoother than a pit stop at Le Mans, and the mental spreadsheets of Olympic coaches.

The day began smoothly, albeit hot and sweaty with our hike to Mount Watkins—that is until a frightening rumble of thunder accompanied the arrival of some darkening clouds. We both whispered our own prayers to Mother Nature. Rain kissed Kate’s helmet, but surprisingly she never felt more than a few drops as she sped through the 5.9R pitches she knew would end our day if they got wet. Our forecast had gone from 0% chance to an ominous few hours of afternoon thunderstorms. However, fate spared us and the clouds skirted around Watkins as we raged to the top. Back down in the valley, the air was calm and hot as we climbed the Nose through the night. We sweated but at least we knew the climate was stable. Trouble brewed the next day as we tackled the final and the most dangerous wall in thunderstorms: Half Dome. This time, we knew something was wrong. No sign of our film crew. No cheering support team. Had something gone wrong on the summit? Possibilities swirled in our minds as we continued toward the top.

When we hit Big Sandy, where two other climbers sat in anticipation of being passed, we asked them for the time. They told us it was 2:00pm. This was the moment that the sub 24 hour goal became a probability instead of a longshot. In a whirlwind of clipping bolts and freeing some easy slab, we found ourselves on the summit ledge with 24 minutes to spare.

From Terrified Gumby to Triple Threat – by Laura Pineau
I still can’t believe it’s only been two years since I first climbed in Yosemite—back when I was flailing on every 5.10 like it owed me money. That first season was… humbling. My partner, Gabriel Charette, and I bailed just before the Great Roof because a literal waterfall was pouring down Changing Corners.

Back then, I probably told anyone who’d listen that speed climbing was downright reckless and that I’d never do it. Ha. Classic foreshadowing.

Flash-forward a year, and I hear about this badass woman from YOSAR (Yosemite Search and Rescue), Kate Kelleghan, looking for a partner for The Triple. For reasons still unclear (temporary insanity?), I thought: “Why not me?” Kate didn’t know it yet, but the second we talked, I was completely hooked on the idea of taking on this wild, borderline ridiculous challenge with her.

To be fair, Kate had very legitimate doubts, since I had basically zero speed climbing experience. But I knew that once she saw how hard I’d commit to the project, she’d start to believe.

From day one, Kate became my speed climbing sensei. She patiently taught me the secrets of moving fast and efficiently on big walls—without sacrificing safety (or sanity). She gave me room to figure things out on my own, too, always balancing tough love with unshakable support.

Together, we weathered it all—fear, excitement, doubt, a few moments of “What the hell are we doing?”—and learned how to rely on one another truly. Climbing the walls was only half the challenge; the real work was building a partnership that could withstand exhaustion, stress, and too many carbohydrate drinks.

In the end, our successful ascent was about way more than just ropes and rock. It was about trust, growth, and the shared stubbornness that kept us going when everything said to stop.

I’ll forever be grateful for this wild ride with Kate—and for all the friends and family who supported us along the way. You all made this crazy dream a reality.

Dreams of Speed by Kate Kelleghan
The gateway drug for me was the Naked Edge. In a few short years of speeding up the classic 5.11 route in Eldorado Canyon, Boulder, I was hitting faster and faster PRs and eventually set the women’s speed record with Becca Droz (or established one, anyway). And like that, I was hooked on climbing fast. When I laid my eyes on the 3,000-foot walls of Yosemite, I knew it would be the ultimate playground to put these speed skills to the test.

After climbing my first NIAD with Eddie Taylor (also one of my Naked Edge speed partners) in a 20 hour push through wildfire smoke and 90 degree temps, the addiction really sunk its teeth in. The microbeta, the tactics, and the community of people who practiced speed climbing like a religion… all of it captured me in a way climbing had not before. I couldn’t believe these local climbers would scale these insane walls in a morning and be down on the ground for an afternoon swim. I wanted this so badly. It felt like I was made for this.

I climbed with a lot of really rad folks, friends on the YOSAR team, Colorado homies, and Yosemite crushers. Almost all of my speed partners were men. I did some climbing with women, but it was usually wall style, freeclimbing focused, or slower than with the dudes. I ended up climbing the Double (El Capitan and Half Dome linkup) with Miles Fullman in 2022, and the minute we hit the top of Half Dome, the thought of the triple blossomed like a cactus rose in my heart and mind. But to do it with a woman… now THAT would be epic.

Only a few select women were speed climbing at this point, and I didn’t have much of a relationship with them. Several of my women crusher partners could handle a decently fast NIAD, but almost none were pushing as hard as I wanted to. Michelle Pellette was my main female speed partner, and while we were able to pull off the second female double-El-Cap ascent, among some other very speedy things, I feared we as a duo still might not have the capability to make the Triple happen.

For years I searched for a female partner – I reached out to women from years past who had speed climbed in the valley, and pro climbers who I knew could probably make up for lack of aid skills with free skills. But finding a partner who was psyched, strong enough, risky enough, and had the time was impossible. I began to doubt that I would ever find her. It turned out I was just looking in the wrong country.

Laura reached out to me as a stranger and a freeclimber. I had my doubts, but over the fall and winter, we did some Dolt runs, climbed linkups in France, spent time getting to know each other, and she began to win me over.

By Spring of 2025, I dragged her up the Naked Edge to see if she had what it took to learn fast and climb fast. We set a new record, and I knew this was the person I had been searching for. We built a partnership of stoke, trust, and laughter that propelled us into the Valley with great momentum.

Laura and I worked tirelessly to follow a schedule we had devised, strategized as an endurance athlete’s training schedule would be, and threw ourselves into it. With a huge crew of supporters made up of our family, friends, and our Yosemite community, we logistically planned every aspect of the day with painstaking detail. It paid off. There were no question marks. When the day came, the only surprises we had were thunderstorms, but by a stroke of luck, they swirled around us but did not touch us. Before we knew it… we were the first women to ever pull off the Yosemite Triple.

10 BREAKOUT PERFORMANCES BY TEAM USA ATHLETES IN SUMMER SPORTS IN 2023

December 22, 2023 by Tara S

BY CHRÖS MCDOUGALL | Team USA

New stars emerge every four years at the Olympics and Paralympics. If you were paying attention in 2023, though, you might have caught a preview of what’s to come next summer.

The year before the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 saw several breakout performances from Team USA athletes, results that included world championships, world records and drought-busting finishes.

Fans can follow along throughout the year at TeamUSA.com, but as we look ahead to the Olympic and Paralympic year in 2024, here are 10 athletes who showed in 2023 that they could be names to watch for in Paris:

Minna Stess, Skateboarding

Currently ranked 5th in the world, Minna Stess made history this year by placing third at the WST Park World Championship 2023 in Rome Ostia. In addition to securing crucial points for the Road to Paris 2024, Stess became the first U.S. woman ever to podium at an Olympic qualifier or Worlds event. At just 17 years old, she is considered the top U.S. female athlete in park skateboarding.

Mark Reis: Team USA

Sarah Adam, Wheelchair Rugby

Long a mixed-gender sport in name only, wheelchair rugby in the United States now has a female star. Adam broke through to become the first U.S. woman to compete at the world championships in 2022, and in 2023 she established herself as a go-to scorer on a team with Paralympic gold-medal aspirations. Adam, who when not playing is a professor of occupational therapy at St. Louis University, played key roles for Team USA in two major tournaments this year, including the Parapan American Games in November in Santiago, Chile. A victory there made Adam the first woman to win Parapan Ams gold in the sport and secured Team USA’s spot in Paris next year. Only Chuck Aoki, a three-time Paralympic medalist, scored more points than Adam.

Team USA

Hannah Chadwick guide Skyler Espinoza, Para-Cycling

Chadwick and her visual guide Espinoza didn’t plan to race the track sprint event at August’s world championships in Scotland. Yet in their first sprint race together, the new tandem won a bronze medal. Later, at the Parapan American Games, they opened with another unexpected win in the 3,000-meter individual pursuit. One day later they were back at their preferred 1,000-meter distance, and back atop the podium, this time in the time trial. The winning time also set a new Parapan Ams record for the event. In Paris, Chadwick, of El Cerrito, California, and Freeport, Maine, native Espinoza will aim to win Team USA’s first Paralympic medal in a visually impaired cycling event since 2008.

Mark Reis

CJ Nickolas, Taekwondo

The 21-year-old Nickolas put U.S. men’s taekwondo back on the map in May when he finished as runner-up in the men’s 80 kg. class at the world championships in Azerbaijan. Nickolas, of Brentwood, California, defeated the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the semifinals before falling to the division’s top-ranked athlete in the final. In doing so, he became the first U.S. man to win a world championships medal in the sport since 2009. After no U.S. men qualified for the Olympics in taekwondo in 2021 — the first time that had happened — Nickolas should be in position to not only qualify for Paris but maybe even contend for a medal.

Noelle Malkamaki, Para Track & Field

Breaking a world record is so fun Malkamaki decided to do it three times this summer. The 22-year-old from Decatur, Illinois, first established a new global mark in the women’s shot put F46 at the U.S. championships in May. In July, she did it twice more at the world championships in Paris. Her final throw of 13.32 meters secured both the world title and her second world record of the day. Malkamaki, who throws collegiately for DePaul, only recently began throwing in Para competitions, and already she’s a favorite for a Paralympic medal next year in Paris.

Getty Images

Fred Richard, Gymnastics

Richard arrived on the scene in 2022 eager to draw attention to his sport , both through TikTok and his performances. It’s safe to say he’s succeeded in both. In April, the 19-year-old wrapped up his freshman season at Michigan by winning the all-around and two event titles at the NCAA championships. Six months later, in Belgium, he broke through on a higher level. Richard left the world championships with a pair of bronze medals — in the team and the all-around. Those marked the first medals for U.S. men in those events at a global championship since 2014 and 2012, respectively. And Richard’s high-flying ways aren’t limited to his stunning floor exercise and high bar routines. His creative gymnastics challenge videos have earned him a following of 645,000 and counting on TikTok.

(L-R0 Valarie Allman and Laulauga Tausaga-Collins pose with their U.S. flags.

Laulauga Tausaga-Collins, Track & Field

Talk about owning the moment. Tausaga-Collins unleashed the biggest throw of her life — by far — to become the first U.S. woman to win a discus world title. The Hawaii-born, California-raised thrower missed the Tokyo Olympics and finished 12th of 12 in the final of last year’s world championships, both while battling back injuries. At this year’s worlds in August in Hungary, Tausaga-Collins sat in fifth place with two throws to go. That’s when she broke out for a 69.49-meter throw, beating her personal best by nearly four meters. Her U.S. teammate and the defending Olympic champ, Valarie Allman, was just behind Tausaga-Collins in second (69.23 m).

Joe Kusumoto

Sam Watson, Climbing

Speed climbing will debut as an Olympic medal event in Paris after being rolled into a combined event in 2021 in Tokyo. That’s good news for Watson, who at 17 is already one of the fastest in the history of the sport. In April, Watson, of Southlake, Texas, scaled the 15-meter wall in 5.02 seconds to establish a new U.S. record. The only thing missing for Watson was a climb like that when it counts most, in a final. He finally put everything together at the Pan American Games in October in Santiago, where he not only won the gold medal but also clinched his first Olympic berth.

Getty Images

Joscelyn Roberson, Gymnastics

The world championships didn’t end quite how Roberson had hoped — a “freak injury” in warmups kept her out of the team and vault finals. But just about everything prior in 2023 was a dream for the 17-year-old from Texarkana, Texas. Following a switch to Simone Biles’ gym last year, Roberson enjoyed a breakthrough winter racking up medals at competitions in Germany, Egypt and Colombia. The powerful tumbler is particularly strong on floor and vault, the latter of which she won at the U.S. championships. In only in her second year at the senior elite level, Roberson showed she can hang with the best in the world.

Joe Kusumoto Team USA

Jeromie Meyer, Wheelchair Basketball

Make no mistake, the U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball team is still a veteran-led group. If the team is to win a third consecutive Paralympic gold medal next year, though, it’ll need key contributions from players like Meyer, of Woodbine, Iowa, who proved to be a key contributor off the bench this year. Meyer closed out his first senior tournament with Team USA by dropping in five points in a 67–66 win over Great Britain to secure the world title in June in Dubai, UAE. He was the only bench player to record a point. Meyer was at it again at the Parapan Am Games, scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds in the final as Team USA thumped Colombia to secure the gold medal and a spot in the Paris Games.

Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic and Paralympic Movement for TeamUSA.org since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Pan American Games 2023: Team USA’s Natalia Grossman clinches final gold medal on sport climbing’s continental games debut

October 25, 2023 by Tara S

By Sam Peene | Olympics

Natalia Grossman won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games on Tuesday (24 October) to secure a quota at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

It was an emotional win for the American, who overcame long-time friend and compatriot Brooke Raboutou on the final day of sport climbing’s continental debut**.**

A lot was on the line as the rivals battled towards the Olympic quota and tears flowed for both when the final results were posted.

‘Bittersweet’ is how Grossman described the win.

“Obviously if it were any other competition we’d be so psyched to be one and two, but having only one spot, it’s a bittersweet feeling,” she told Olympics.com after stepping down from the podium with close friend Raboutou who took silver.

The gold was the fourth of four climbing titles awarded at the games, and for the United States, it was a clean sweep.

Brooke Raboutou of USA (c), Natalia Grossman of USA (L) and Alannah Yip of Canada (R) they celebrate with their medals in the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games on October 24 in Santiago, Chile.(SEBASTIAN NANCO/SANTIAGO 2023 via PHOTOSPORT)

After blue skies all afternoon with the snow-capped Andes mountains as the venue’s backdrop, the stadium lights began to malfunction and competition was delayed.

Canada’s Rebecca Frangos completed her run as the malfunctions began, scaling the lead wall as the lights flickered and the audience showed audible concern.

Talking about the delay, Grossman said “I think it actually helped me ’cause I was able to just fuel up and then rest. And so by the time I was on the wall, all the carbs had kicked in and I was like, let’s go.”

She climbed the wall with precision and control and came within inches of completion before falling and taking a final score of 88.1.

Raboutou did all she could to make up for her 14.9 point deficit from her rival after the boulder portion, but even with a lead score of 96, she was unable to come back.

The boulder section kicked off the day and Grossman dominated. The 22-year-old looked like a seasoned pro as she flowed through both boulders two and three smoothly, completing both on her first attempt in under a minute and a half to look back at the crowd and flash a smile.

She was the only athlete to complete the first three successfully, but fell just short of completion on the fourth to end her perfect streak.

Santiago native Alejandra Contreras finished sixth in the boulder and lead portions and was a crowd favorite. The audience cheered, waved the Chilean flag and held posters with her name drawn in large red, white and blue letters.

National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective NOC teams at the Olympic Games. Athletes’ participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.

SANTIAGO, CHILE Ð OCT 24: Natalia Grossman de Estados Unidos en accion en Escalada durante los Juegos Panamericanos Santiago 2023 el 24 de octubre en Santiago, Chile./ Natalia Grossman of USA in action during the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games on October 24 in Santiago, Chile. (Foto de Dante Fernandez/ Santiago 2023 v’a Photosport).(DANTE FERNANDEZ/SANTIAGO 2023 via PHOTOSPORT)