INDIANAPOLIS — We're just eight months away from the Summer Olympics, and we're introducing you to a Hoosier who has climbed her way to Paris.
Speed climbing will be an Olympic sport next year. An athlete who grew up in Indianapolis and trained at Carmel's Hoosier Heights is going for the gold.
Piper Kelly makes it look so easy. Kelly took up climbing with her dad when she was just seven years old.
"So, speed climbing is different than other forms of rock climbing because the climb is always exactly the same. I've done it enough times, I can literally do it with a blindfold on, not quite as fast as with my eyes open, but I know the moves that well," Kelly said.
Piper is a natural at it. She spent lots of time on the walls while attending Irvington Prep Academy on Indy's east side.
That commitment paid off. Kelly showed us her gold medal from the Pan American Games in Chile.
"I had to win the event in order to get the ticket (to compete in Paris). There was only one spot available. Truly, it is a dream come true. It's been something that I've been pursuing for probably six or seven years now," she said. "So it's a little hard to grasp, to come to terms with everything, but I think it's finally starting to sink in and I'm just really excited about the next eight months and then to have the opportunity to represent in Paris."
Her climb to the top of the sport hasn't been easy. She has dealt with some big obstacles.
"I actually had shoulder surgery in 2020 and that was a year-and-a-half, almost two years of recovery, so really happy to have been able to get back from that. That's a surgery that not everyone can ever make a full recovery from," Kelly said
The shoulder is now fine and she's quicker than ever. And now that she has made the Olympic team, her goals have gotten bigger.
"I'm thinking make finals at the very least, said Kelly. "I think that, I would like to be my goal. But I'm also just really excited for the whole experience. You know, they have the athlete village, so getting to meet other athletes from other countries as well as the other Team USA athletes and other sports and just have that opportunity to get to be with everybody and see the city. I've never been to Paris before, either, so yeah, the whole thing is just gonna be pretty cool."
Kelly is among a select group of Hoosier athletes who get to represent the USA on the world stage.
"It's pretty crazy just to even think about it again," she said. "That's the dream that maybe a lot of people have when they're little girls but you don't often get to realize that dream. So yeah, I'm super excited to be able to represent the US flag and Indiana and everyone that's helped get me to where I am today."
So remember the name Piper Kelly as she tries to climb her way into Olympic history, and it all started right here in Indianapolis.