The World Cup climbing competition brings loud crowds to Salt Lake City and highlights the growing sport

Salt Lake City -There are probably louder places in Utah on this Memorial Day weekend, but if you were at the Downtown Salt Lake City headquarters in the US climbing on Saturday, you could feel how the energy copies.

The World Cup climbing competition attracted a sold-out and loud audience, and for Team USA athletes it was a chance not only to show how far the sport has come, but also how strong the local support really is.

“I think it was totally crazy to see how climbing started since 2009 when I really started to compete,” said Kyra Condie, an Olympian from the Tokyo games 2020.

Nowadays Condie jokes that she is one of the “older” athletes in the team.

“I still feel pretty young. I am 28 years old, 29,” she said with a laugh.

Nevertheless, with her experience and after Salt Lake City to train with the national team, she saw first -hand how popular climbing – especially in Utah – has become.

The US national team is located in Salt Lake City, and the growing community of the elite climber here is a big reason why athletes from all over the country are moving in.

“It is unreal. The support is huge here,” said Ben Hanna, member of the national team.

Hanna came to Salt Lake City to train for a few weeks, but never went.

“I came to visit to train just a bit. I said: 'Hey Mom, I will go to Salt Lake for three weeks and sleep on my friend's couch and just do a little training here.' And after the first week I called her and said, 'I can't come home, mom!' “, He said. “I don't think I'm where I am without having decided to move to Salt Lake City.”

For climbers like Hanna and Condie, the climbing community of Utah and local fans offer the kind of swing that makes a difference in competitions like this.

You have contributed to building a strong basis for the next generation of climbers.

“The support is like one of the largest parts of it,” said Vail Everett, another member of the USA team who moved to Salt Lake City and studies engineering at the University of Utah. “This whole culture supports me and the rest of Team USA.”

Most climbing events of the World Cup take place in Europe and Asia. So it is a big deal to have one in the United States, especially for the climbers in Salt Lake City.

“How, yes, just very nice for the brain,” said Condie with a laugh. “You can come back and relax a bit and don't worry that you are so much on the road. You get your friends here, you get your family, you can stay at home and get your normal meal plan that you don't get when you are on the go.”