Kai Lightner (born August 21, 1999) is an American professional competitive sport climber from Fayetteville, North Carolina,[1] and an advocate for diversity in rock climbing.

Biography

When Lightner was six years old, he climbed a 50-foot flagpole in his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. A woman passing on the street gave Lightner's mother the address of a local climbing gym.[2] Four years later, Lightner won his first youth sport climbing national championship.

In 2014, Lightner earned the gold medal for his age category (14-15) at the Youth World Championships in New Caledonia, becoming the first Youth American Lead World Champion since 1995. In 2015, at the age of 15, he became the Open Lead Climbing National Champion in his first year of eligibility. In 2017, Lightner won Lead Open Nationals in Denver, Colorado.[3] Overall, Lightner has earned 10 Youth National Championship titles and is a five-time Youth World Championship Medalist.[4]

Lightner has become an advocate for diversity in rock climbing. In the summer of 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, Lightner founded a nonprofit called Climbing for Change(C4C).[5] The goal of C4C is to provide opportunities for people of color both in climbing gyms and outside. In a 2020 article in Climbing Magazine, Lightner proposed that through his own media exposure, climbing might evolve to be a more inclusive activity, noting that in Black and white communities alike, climbing is perceived as "a white sport."[6]

In 2016 Lightner was featured alongside climber Ashima Shiraishi in the Reel Rock 11 film Young Guns.[7]

In 2020, Lightner was enrolled at Babson College.[8]

Outdoor climbing highlights

  • Life of Villians (5.14d) in Hurricave, Utah[9]
  • Era Vella (5.14c/d) in Margalef, Spain[1]
  • Lucifer (5.14c) and Southern Smoke (5.14c) in the Red River Gorge[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Flashman, Johanna (26 April 2018). "Generation 5.16: The Kai Lightner Profile". Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  2. ↑ Hooper, Joseph (2016). "Kai Lightner, Climbing's Boy Wonder". Men's Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Ashima Shiraishi, Kai Lightner Win 2017 Sport National Championship". Rock and Ice. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  4. ↑ "bio". Kai Lightner. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  5. ↑ Diouf, Amath (September 25, 2020). "Climbing4Change: Kai Lightner Helps BIPOC Ascend to New Heights". Gear Junkie. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Why Aren't There More Black Climbers? These Athletes Know Why and Aim to Make a Difference". 18 June 2021.
  7. ↑ Davis, Shannon (2016-09-08). "REEL ROCK 11: Young Guns". REI Co-op Journal. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  8. ↑ Findlay, Kaia; Rao, Anita (2020-07-27). "Kai Lightner Climbs For The Next Generation". WUNC. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  9. ↑ "Kai Lightner Climbs Life of Villains 5.14d". 23 November 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-20.



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