Brooke Raboutou keeps it simple: ‘It’s just you and the wall’

“Please welcome the one, the only… Brooke Raboutou!”

As the site manager welcomes the American sport climber to the home championships in Salt Lake, the 23-year-old Boulder, Colorado, native comes to shouts from her compatriots – a climbing enthusiast is welcome for… a climbing enthusiast.

“My dad always said, ‘It’s just you and the wall,'” says Raboutou Olympics.com in a recent exclusive interview. “Which is just a reminder that it’s not about anyone else. It’s just about me and giving myself to the rock in front of me.”

This approach rings truer than ever for Raboutou as she heads into Shanghai Olympic Series next weekend (May 16-19), where she still has her second Olympic spot to rely on Paris 2024.

After making his debut along with his sport at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, Raboutou is taking lessons from a first trip around the biggest stage in the world – which she hopes will help her as she scales towards the OQS.

“In some ways it was very, very different from other competitions, but it was also similar,” Raboutou says of Tokyo. “At the end of the day, it’s just you and the wall and the climbs in front of you – and trying to perform and be in the moment.”

She continued: “This stage really taught me the importance of my mental training and being happy with who I am and finding balance in life and using that to fuel my performance.

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Brooke Raboutou: “I’m racing with pure passion”

Raboutou is his daughter Didier Raboutou and Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutourenowned climbers who started ABC Kids Climbing, a youth-oriented climbing program that is one of a kind – and where Raboutou grew up climbing in Boulder.

“The ABC energy has been chaotic and wonderful since day one, so it hasn’t changed too much,” laughs Raboutou when asked about her beginnings in the sport. “We didn’t just compete against each other, we pushed each other to work hard… and we just had so much fun too.”

“That philosophy has really just stayed with me throughout my career,” she added. “I’m competing out of pure passion – and that passion continues to grow and the desire to learn more and more about the sport and what I’m capable of and just push myself.”

Since Tokyo 2021, Raboutou has continued to be a force on the international circuit, claiming bronze at the 2023 World Championships, having also won bronze in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons in the event.

As Paris approaches, Raboutou hopes to summon the same kind of kid energy to help her secure a spot for Paris. She goes back to another saying – this one from her mom.

“Do what you love and love what you do,” she says. “My mom would always say that… I’m grateful that my job is climbing. And that’s what I love to do. And what I love to do becomes my job.”

Raboutou is an outdoor climber at heart

Thanks to her beginnings in a climbing family, Raboutou’s wall is sometimes an international world championship – and sometimes a glimpse of rock in one of her favorite places near home in Colorado – or as far away as France.

“As much as I compete, I also love outdoor climbing,” she said. “I just love being outside and connecting with nature, being with family and friends – or sometimes even solo.”

“There’s just something about it that really motivates me, wanting to get to the top of the climb and be there for the boulder itself… for the simple act of just being outside and feeding my soul with all that good energy.” “

This good energy is something that Raboutou tries to put on the competition wall, even as she faces increasing pressure.

For her, it’s getting back to the connection with the rock. That’s why she started in the first place.

“Sometimes it’s going out and trying the hardest climb possible,” she said. “And sometimes it’s just to do a really light climb and fall in love with the movement and get lost in the outdoors. Every ride in the outdoors can look different, and that’s why it’s very special.”