In the News
An Olympian in the making Kyra Condie started climbing when she was an 11-year-old student at Chippewa Middle School. A friend held their birthday party at Vertical Endeavors in Minneapolis and the experience launched Condie onto a path that would lead to the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. A Shoreview native, Condie quickly became competitive in climbing. She particularly liked the individual aspect of the sport – being able to challenge herself and push limits while being surrounded by a supportive community of climbers. But a diagnosis of severe scoliosis a few years later nearly took Condie out of climbing completely. Condie underwent major back surgery where doctors fused 10 vertebrae together. After four months of recovery she started training again and returned to competitive climbing a year after surgery. That’s when her intensity and focus on training drove her to become an elite climber. Surgery, and the forced time off, reaffirmed how much Condie loved to climb and she realized what it meant to her. After recovery, Condie won her first major competition. Condie qualified for the Olympics in 2019 at an event in Toulouse, France. She’s one of four Americans who will compete in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Currently she’s training in Salt Lake City, Utah and spends five days a week climbing for as long as four hours each day, sometimes doubling up her training sessions ahead of competitions. Condie says she’s looking forward to Tokyo and being surrounded by other elite athletes. While she’s enjoying her path to the Olympics, she does miss her puppy, her family, and her home in Shoreview. Her long term plan is to become a veterinarian but says she’s “going to make the pro climbing thing work while I can.” Good luck in Tokyo, Kyra! We’ll be cheering you on.
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SUMMER 2021
