Student rock climber talks with Teen Vogue about competing globally
ASU student Sierra Blair-Coyle became the youngest qualifying rock climber for the World Cup in 2010 and recently placed seventh in the 2012 American Bouldering Series National.
Now, the 18-year-old rock climber is the subject of a recent Q & A feature in Teen Vogue that was featured in The Huffington Post. The Sun Devil says she was introduced to the sport at her family's local shopping mall.
"There's an outdoor mall that's pretty close to my house and there's a climbing wall there. I'd try to drag my parents there every day because I thought it was so much fun," Blair-Coyle tells Teen Vogue writer Sierra Tishgart. "From there, I joined a climbing team and started training and competing." She has participated in more than 100 competitions.
"I think when I was about twelve, I realized I wanted to do this on the national level," she says.
Hoping that rock climbing will become an official Olympic event by 2020, she says right now her focus is on balancing college and climbing.
"It's really important to have a degree," says Blair-Coyle, who was admitted to ASU on a scholarship. "I'm going to climb forever, but just in case it doesn't work out, or if I get injured or something, I'm going to need something else I can do."