Colin Duffy (17) Olympic preperation interview

Colin Duffy, youth world champion twice, qualified to Tokyo last spring by winning Pan American. This was the first international IFSC senior competition by this 167 cm tall 16-year-old. "I didn't really have my eyes on the Olympics until the start of 2020."

How is your Olympic preparation going?
I am climbing 4-5 days a week, making sure to train each discipline during the week. I typically speed climb once a week and train endurance and comp style boulders the rest of the time. Along with climbing, I am working with a physical trainer to improve general strength and doing mobility work for flexibility.

What is your goal in Tokyo?
My Olympic dream would be to create memories I will remember forever and climb to the absolute best of my ability.

What are your Speed record, training and goal?
My official speed PB is 6.92 seconds. My speed goal for the Olympics would be to be in 6.6-6.7 range. To train for speed I like to do different drills such as working different sections of the route. These drills help me work on minor details. I also like to train leg power by doing exercises like box jumps and squats.

How has Covid-19 affected your training?
As of now Covid-19 doesn't have too much of an impact on my training, however, it affected me when the pandemic first started. When Covid was first spreading in the first few months of 2020, the gyms were closed and I was forced to train on my home wall. To adapt, I set different climbs on my wall and worked on physical training as well. Thankfully, I have full access to climbing gyms now and my training isn't affected. I have adapted to climbing in a mask though haha.

Who are your training partners and what do they mean to you?
Normally I train with my climbing team during the week so I don't really have any set training partners. I have been training a bit with Brooke Raboutou though who is a friend and fellow Olympian for Team USA. My training partners are very important to me as they help push and motivate me to be better!

Interview of his background from when he qualified to the Olympics winning the Pan American last spring. "I started climbing when I found the sport at a local recreation center around 4 years old. I fell in love with the challenge of the wall and would beg my parents to let me do it again. From there I practiced the sport periodically until I started taking it seriously at age 8. I'd say my coach Robyn Raboutou has meant the most for my career. When I started on team ABC in 2012, she has always believed in me and motivated me to try harder and perform better."