EP 232: Natalia Grossman (Olympian) — Her Breakout Success, Overcoming Mental & Physical Hurdles, & What It Takes to Win

The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Natalia Grossman is a World Champion and 3x overall World Cup winner and will compete for Team USA at the Paris Olympics. We talked about spending time in Mexico as a kid, her breakout year in 2021, dealing with public criticism, working on her mindset, how to win without being the strongest person competing, hard outdoor sends and goals, her happiest moments, her top training advice, and much more.

Watch the Video Interview of this episode:

EP 232: Natalia Grossman — Uncut Video

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/natalia-grossman

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:46) – Natalia’s parents

(00:03:08) – Spending summers in Mexico & speaking Spanish

(00:08:10) – Discovering climbing

(00:11:25) – Her breakout year in 2021 & dealing with public criticism

(00:16:44) – Facing pressure in 2022

(00:19:58) – The hardest year

(00:22:36) – Health challenges & learning to listen to her body

(00:26:42) – Learning & hobbies

(00:28:46) – Studying psychology

(00:31:04) – Finding balance

(00:37:10) – “It’s not always the strongest person who wins.”

(00:38:15) – What does it take to win?

(00:39:51) – Setters’ influence on comps

(00:42:08) – Natalia’s leadup to the Olympics

(00:45:12) – Smile & Fight

(00:50:45) – Don’t be ashamed to ask for help

(00:53:48) – Hard outdoor sends

(00:58:49) – Projecting & outdoor goals

(01:01:54) – Freezing

(01:06:17) – Why Natalia doesn’t like rituals

(01:08:11) – Competition underwear

(01:09:26) – Rapid fire questions

(01:11:42) – Gymnastics culture

(01:13:24) – More rapid-fire questions

(01:18:22) – Her happiest moment

(01:21:41) – Deep convos, training advice, & following psych

(01:25:22) – Wrap up & EXTRA for Patrons