Who Is Colin Duffy? – The Youngest Climber At Tokyo 2021

Who Is Colin Duffy?

Colin Duffy is the youngest climber to compete at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. He qualified at his first adult climbing competition in first place – the Pan-American Continental Championships.

He’s relatively inexperienced but very strong and obviously hungry to win. He’s been a part of the US National Team for a few years now and in recent competitions has shown he deserves his place.

Colin Duffy is sponsored by Black Diamond, Evolv shoes, Friction Labs chalk, and aminoVITAL.

When Did Colin Duffy Start Climbing?

Colin started climbing at just three years old! He lives in Colorado, like fellow Olympian Brooke Raboutou, and was first introduced to it as a fun activity. Initially he climbed at a regular gym with a climbing wall at around 4 or 5, then joined a class at climbing gym a few years later.

Aat 8 he tried out at the famous ABC Climbing Gym, a kid-focused climbing center that specializes in training the best young climbers in the USA. The coach at the time was amazed by his ability and got him straight onto their program.

Is Colin Duffy In The Olympics?

Yes, Colin Duffy is competing at the Olympics in 2021. He got his invitation by winning the IFSC Pan-American Championships at the start of 2020. Incredibly it was his first adult competition and he came away with a win and an Olympic invite.

Will Colin Duffy Win The Olympics?

It’s unlikely that Duffy will win in 2021. While he will likely put in an incredible performance he’s up against seasoned veterans and some of the strongest climbers to have ever lived – including possibly the best climber in the world Adam Ondra.

We predict he will do decently in the Lead portion but will place under the Lead specialists. He’ll likely also do OK at Bouldering though the competition is probably the toughest here. In Speed though he’s been getting more consistent, his times are under some other Lead/Boulder climbers.

We still think he’s got a lot of potential and with a great performance would be in the final – though probably not a chance at a medal. That being said there is still Paris 2024. With more experience, more time to train after school and college, and being one of four Americans who already competed at an Olympics – he could well compete again.

Colin Duffy Training Program, Diet + Nutrition

As Colin is still in school he has to work his training around study. As most of his classes are now online he attends online throughout the day, then shoots off to one of the local climbing gyms most evenings for around three hours.

As his main goal is the Olympics he switches been Bouldering, Speed Climbing, and Lead Climbing training – though he prefers Lead and Bouldering. His focused training is done at the ABC gym with head coach Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou. He’s also got a home wall which helped during lockdown.

Colin Duffy Competition Results

Colin’s had some great results in Youth comps. He took 1st at the IFSC Youth World Championships in Lead at Innsbruck 2017, then the same at Moscow in 2018, and second in Lead at Arco in 2019. His biggest result was the one that got him into the Olympics – 1st at the Pan-American Championships 2020.

Recently his results have been a little more varied but at the Villars stop of the Climbing World Cup in July 2021 he took 3rd in Lead. That’s placing over other Olympians like Alberto Ginés López, teammate Nathaniel Coleman, and Rishat Khaibullin.

Colin Duffy Outdoor Climbing

Colin has some impressive feats under his bet in outdoor climbing. His hardest redpoint sport climbs were “Pure Imagination” and “Southern Smoke“, both 5.14c / 8c+. He did both in the same day in Red River Gorge right after onsighting “Omaha Beach” 5.14a / 8b+.

Colin’s hardest boulder was grade is V13 / 8B and he’s taken down a few in this grade. Blocs include “Free Range (aka Cage Free Assis)“at Boulder Canyon or “Don’t Get Too Greedy“, “The Right“, and “Don’t Get Too Greedy“.

What Climbing Shoes Does Colin Duffy Wear?

Duffy wears the Evolv Shaman for most of most Lead and Bouldering. He is sponsored by Evolv but really rates the Shaman as an excellent all-rounder. He uses the Evolv Rave for Speed as it’s a simple, light design that slips on and off.

Colin Duffy Instagram + Social Media

Check out Colin’s Instagram here where has 20k followers and growing.