JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In 100 days the best athletes on the planet will gather in Paris for the Summer Olympics. 32 sports will be featured in this year's games, and that includes rock climbing, which made its Olympic debut in Tokyo, but will expand with different medal offerings this year. A Jacksonville teenager hopes to one day find himself on the global stage.
In the previous Summer Olympics three different climbing disciplines were combined for one medal. This year speed climbing will shine by itself with its own medal and a climber from Jacksonville hopes to reach for the medal stand one day.
Dylan Schwartz said there's one simple goal to speed climbing. "It's all about getting up a 15 meter wall as quickly as you can," he says.
A discipline, that when done correctly, is over in a matter of seconds.
"When you're on a speed wall you're just thinking about the next hold," said Schwartz, "clearing your mind and getting ready for the next move like you practiced over and over in practice."
Schwartz is only a senior at the Bolles School, but he's already making a name for himself on the national stage. Next month he's going to a qualifier for the national competition and if he scales a 15 meter wall in 12 seconds he will automatically qualify for nationals.
Schwartz has a background of track and crew at Bolles, but became hooked on climbing after giving it a try more than a year ago. After spending time on rock walls, he gravitated to speed climbing.
"You look at the other rope routes, the holes were so small and you just need a baseline of strength that takes years and years so I really like speed climbing because it gives you a much more quantitative measurement of how good you're doing while you're progressing," said Schwartz.
A mathematical approach, fitting of someone who plans to study mechanical engineering at Sheffield University in England next year.
"That's a really well known hub for climbing, especially in Europe," said Schwartz, "and they have speed walls there so I'm hoping to train every day for that and work my way up to a national level and international competition level."
Dylan Schwartz said that in order to go to the Olympics climbers have to compete at the national level for a full year, so he won't be going to Paris this summer. But the Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles in 2028, so in 4 years Dylan Schwartz might climb his way to the medal stand in his home country.
Schwartz trains at The Edge Rock Gym on Philips Highway and is part of their rock climbing team. More information about The Edge Rock Gym can be found on their website: theedgerockgym.com.