EP 230: Emma Hunt (Olympian) — Why Speed Climbing is Legit, the Mental Game & Strategy of Racing, & Chasing World Records

Emma Hunt is the US speed climbing record holder and will compete in the Paris Olympics. We talked about her intro to speed climbing, how strong you have to be for speed climbing, speed training, how speed shoes compare to other climbing shoes, her mental game and strategy in comps, prejudice against speed in the climbing world, whether the speed route will ever change, why speed is cool, and much more!

Watch the Video Interview of this episode:

EP 230: Emma Hunt — Uncut Video

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Show Notes:  

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/emma-hunt

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:50) – Emma’s intro to climbing & speed

(00:04:08) – “I just wanna go fast.”

(00:06:48) – Keeping the fire lit

(00:09:28) – Beta changes

(00:12:08) – The Start, Dyno, and Top

(00:13:10) – Speed nerds

(00:16:19) – A rock climber first

(00:18:10) – Post-Olympic plans

(00:20:41) – How strong are speed climbers?

(00:23:25) – How speed climbers train

(00:28:42) – Training sections of the speed route

(00:30:14) – Off-the-wall training

(00:31:56) – Her coaches

(00:35:06) – Speed shoes

(00:44:59) – Other sports

(00:46:27) – Rock climbing as a kid

(00:48:27) – What makes Emma so good at speed

(00:49:58) – Pre-race rituals

(00:51:36) – Speed mental game

(00:56:37) – Olympic vs. World Cup format

(00:59:06) – Seeds & sides

(01:00:39) – Strategy

(01:05:01) – Riding waves

(01:11:28) – More about the Olympic format

(01:13:18) – Speed prejudice & Toyko combined format

(01:27:51) – Future Bouldering & Lead comps

(01:29:20) – Speed climbing in the mainstream

(01:35:22) – We celebrate gold

(01:40:39) – Barriers to speed

(01:42:30) – Emma’s fastest time & goals

(01:44:49) – Will the speed route ever change?

(01:51:56) – 50-year-old goals

(01:53:45) – Rapid fire questions

(02:07:51) – Speed is cool