Ep 27: Jesse Grupper - Competing at the Olympics Injured

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Jesse is a boulder + lead climber (mostly lead climber) from the USA who is fresh from the Olympics! In this episode, he walks us through his entire Olympics experience, from training through his first ever finger injury, to balancing training with his engineering job, to meeting other athletes in the Olympic village.

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Guest links:
Instagram (instagram.com/yayjesse_g)

Reference links:
Protect Our Winters (protectourwinters.org)

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Timestamps of discussion topics
0:00 - Post-Olympics travels
7:04 - Climbing and competing start
9:41 - Youth training + competition
12:39 - Wanting to work as an engineer
17:55 - Only getting 1 shot on a World Cup lead route
20:52 - Slipping on the Olympics semis lead route
23:12 - Boulder mindset as a lead climber
26:11 - Olympics Combined format strategy
29:42 - Finger injury leading up to the Olympics
35:34 - Olympics training with a hurt finger
42:41 - Olympics village experience - feeling like a real athlete
47:17 - Dealing with post-Olympic blues
51:22 - Goals post-Olympics
52:55 - LA 2028 plans
58:52 - Protect our Winters work
1:04:35 - Discord Q: Why does it seem like you're friends with every climber on the circuit?! (And a discussion on competitiveness)
1:10:03 - Discord Q: Professional and climbing career intersection?
1:12:35 - Final thoughts: Voting and memes, where to find Jesse