Brooke Raboutou, 23, closely missed qualification for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 but walked away from the IFSC Climbing World Championships with a hard-fought bronze medal in the women’s boulder event.
Brooke Raboutou closely missed the qualification for the Olympics 2024
At the Pan American Games, The boulder finals came down to Raboutou versus fellow American Natalia Grossman, who won gold. Grossman’s brilliant climbing on finals day mathematically eliminated Raboutou’s Paris 2024 chances before Brooke Raboutou even began her final run.
Grossman earned a commanding 172.5 points over Raboutou’s 165.4. Canada’s Alannah Yip rounded out the podium for bronze with 128.7 points.
Jesse Grupper, Piper Kelly, and Samuel Watson topped their respective events, joining Natalia Grossman who earned her ticket to Paris at last year’s World Championships. But Raboutou narrowly missed out on Paris.
Brooke Raboutou recently competed at the IFSC Climbing World Championships in a women’s boulder and made a bronze medal in her strongest event.
Meet Brooke Raboutou Climbers Family Members
Brooke Raboutou, born on April 9, 2001, in Boulder, Colorado, was born into a family of climbers. As the daughter of climbers Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou and Didier Raboutou, two former World Cup champions, climbing was in her blood from birth.
Even at a very young age, Brooke was introduced to rock climbing by her parents. With their guidance and support, she quickly took to the sport and began honing her skills. Her older brother Shawn Raboutou is also a successful outdoor climber.
With her family’s coaching and her natural talent, Brooke rose through the ranks of competitive youth climbing. She broke many age records on her way up, becoming the youngest female to climb several high-graded routes in her early teens.
While intensely focused on climbing, Brooke also recognized the importance of academics. She took coursework in high school which allowed her to graduate early at age 17. She then joined at the University of San Diego in 2018 to study marketing while continuing to train and compete.
Brooke Raboutou Father Didier Raboutou
Didier Raboutou, Brooke’s father, has a storied history in competitive climbing, pursuing the way to his daughter’s success. He began climbing in 1977 as a teenager in France. Always drawn to competition, he competed in Sportroccia in 1985 – one of the very first international climbing competitions ever held.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Didier established himself as a top climber on the global scene. He continued to compete and make his craft before retiring from professional competition in 1992 to focus on family life.
Though he stepped back from his competitive career, Didier stayed deeply involved in the climbing world. He became a certified climbing coach in France.
After marrying fellow climber Robyn Erbesfield in 1993, the two settled in Boulder, Colorado, and founded ABC Kids Climbing programs. They aimed to pass on their expertise and passion for climbing to the next generation.
With Robyn, Didier also constructed climbing training facilities for youth climbers. This includes ABC Boulder’s training center used by France’s national team to this day.
Even after retiring as a competitor, Didier always prioritized family. He spent time with his wife and kids at competitions during Brooke and her brother Shawn’s childhood. Now he enjoys activities like cycling when not coaching and mentoring Brooke in her career.
Her Mother Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou
Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou, Brooke’s mother, grew up in Atlanta, Georgia as one of four children. Her parents divorced when she was just seven years old. As a child, Robyn played basketball and football – not typical activities for young girls then.
Though Robyn didn’t find climbing until age 18, the sport quickly became her life’s passion. In sport climbing, she became only the third woman in history to “redpoint” the difficult 5.14a route.
She also dominated early international climbing competitions upon their debut in the 1980s. Robyn captured four World Cup championships in the early 1990s (1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995). Additionally, she took home gold at the biennial World Championships in 1995 – further cementing her icon status.
Her Brother Shawn Raboutou
Shawn Raboutou was born on April 19, 1998, in Boulder, Colorado into a family with competitive climbing. Shawn began climbing by age 3.
Shawn turned his focus to competing professionally. He participated in the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup series between 2015 and 2017.
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In 2022 he reentered competitive climbing on a smaller scale through the North American Cup Series. There he won silver in bouldering behind top athlete Brian Squire. Shawn has shifted his climbing mainly outdoors on the rock.
Brooke Raboutou’s Climbing Career So Far
Brooke Raboutou’s climbing ability came from an extremely early age. By just 9 years old, she was already completing V10 and V11 boulder problems – expert-level routes that stump climbers many years her senior.
Her precocious talent soon led Brooke to shatter countless age records throughout her early teens. She became the youngest female ever to climb benchmark routes like 5.13b, 5.13d, and 5.14a over just a few years.
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At 11-year-old Brooke then became the youngest female to conquer the 5.14b boulder problem “Welcome to Tijuana” in Rodellar, Spain. Three years later at 14, she achieved the first female climber of 5.14c on the iconic Southern Smoke route in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge.
Brooke dominates junior climbing competitions across the globe. From 2016-2019, she captured gold and podium finishes at Youth World Championships in bouldering, lead climbing, and combined across age groups.
Brooke Raboutou Olympics Journey
Brooke Raboutou faced a battle to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Despite finishing high enough at the 2019 Climbing World Championships, she was removed from the US climbing team. However, after appealing the decision, Brooke was returned following a 9th place result at the Olympic Trials soon after.
At just 19 years old, Brooke gained invaluable experience in Tokyo, even if the final results were unsatisfying, she finished 5th in the Combined event. Her best showing was in bouldering (10th), while Speed climbing (7th) and Lead climbing (6th) held her back in the cumulative scoring. She fell multiple times in Speed and slipped off the wall halfway up during her Lead climb.
At just 19 years old, Brooke gained invaluable experience in Tokyo, even if the final results were unsatisfying. Competing for the first time in the Olympics, she finished 5th in the Combined event.
“I learned a lot from the Olympics. Most of all, the journey. That was the first time that I really dedicated a lot of my time to training, being a full-time, elite athlete and just seeing what I could do on the big stage was really eye opening and then taking that into the past few seasons has been just really, I don’t know, exciting. Fifth was definitely a bittersweet position. It left me wanting more and knowing how much more I could do, which has just continued to push me.”
Raboutou said Olympic experience
At the 2023 IFSC World Championships, Brooke captured Bronze in her Bouldering event and be fifth in lead and fourth in boulder and lead.
