What happened to Ashima Shiraishi?

Wasn't she supposed to be the next/best/greatest climber? What happened?

Maybe she got bored and decided she should have a life...........

College and actually learning things besides route beta I heard.

Honestly she has already been the best female climber in the world already so there is that.

M M wrote:

College and actually learning things besides route beta I heard.

Honestly she has already been the best female climber in the world already so there is that.

No doubt she was a very notable child climbing prodigy, but whether she was ever the best female climber regardless of age is debatable. Certainly she hasn't translated well into the adult competition circuit despite aspirations for the Tokyo Olympics.

As for the college thing, Adam Ondra was also a child prodigy, graduated from college & went to the Olympics. Brooke Rabatou (same age) was never hyped like Ashima but she also graduated from college, is an Olympian & has won an adult IFSC world cup.

Which is not to say anything bad about Ashima, but different people have different development curves & it may just be other's time to shine.

Eric Metzgar wrote:

Wasn't she supposed to be the next/best/greatest climber? What happened?

Her dad dropped her at the gym with a GriGri.

She just finished her freshman year in college.  Remember, climbers don't make money...

reboot wrote:

No doubt she was a very notable child climbing prodigy, but whether she was ever the best female climber regardless of age is debatable. Certainly she hasn't translated well into the adult competition circuit despite aspirations for the Tokyo Olympics.

As for the college thing, Adam Ondra was also a child prodigy, graduated from college & went to the Olympics. Brooke Rabatou (same age) was never hyped like Ashima but she also graduated from college, is an Olympian & has won an adult IFSC world cup.

Which is not to say anything bad about Ashima, but different people have different development curves & it may just be other's time to shine.

Ok, you made me look. Ashima has climbed harder grades in both sport and bouldering than Brooke and is studying neuroscience and environmental science, neither of your examples list what they actually studied. I'd guess something along the lines of recreation and tourism degrees since that is super common in the mountain loving world.

On a related note, 1990s teen climbing prodigy Katie Brown recently wrote a memoir. 

https://www.climbing.com/people/what-ever-happened-to-katie-brown/ 

reboot wrote:

Brooke Rabatou (same age) was never hyped like Ashima but she also graduated from college, is an Olympian & has won an adult IFSC world cup.

Brooke was very much hyped as being a child prodigy climber, 

And literally to this day it's all about how they're a prodigy, 

Gumby King wrote:

She just finished her freshman year in college.  Remember, climbers don't make money...

she did the coca cola sponsorship for free?

Pretty sure she comes through the shop a few times most years. Always seems happy.

What more can you ask for?

petzl logic wrote:

she did the coca cola sponsorship for free?

Not sure on that one.  She's likely still with TNF.

petzl logic wrote:

she did the coca cola sponsorship for free?

Maybe she gets free coke for life, kinda like the average red bull athletes?

M M wrote:

Maybe she gets free coke for life, kinda like the average red bull athletes?

Red bull athletes get paid on average from 36-50k/year. Plus whatever other sponsors, prize money for winning anything, day jobs, etc, etc.  

I've seen her around the coffee shop in Bishop a couple times in recent years. She could have just been here for the railroad museum, but I'm guessing she still climbs boulders. If I see her again I'll let her know there's some dudes on the internet who may not approve of her chosen college major or her results on the competition circuit.

M M wrote:

Maybe she gets free coke for life, kinda like the average red bull athletes?

I was thinking she got about a million dollars for it over the course of 5-10 years.

Patrick L wrote:

Red bull athletes get paid on average from 36-50k/year. Plus whatever other sponsors, prize money for winning anything, day jobs, etc, etc.  

Too bad the ones who bust their spines get absolutely nothing for not showing up to work the next day. 

Isn't Ashima still the only female to climb V15?  I'm probably out of date on this, but that's my recollection.

I'm sure several other fem crushers could climb hard outside if they focused on it, but the Janja's and Natalias and Brookes are focused on comps it seems.

Short Fall Sean wrote:

I've seen her around the coffee shop in Bishop a couple times in recent years. She could have just been here for the railroad museum, but I'm guessing she still climbs boulders. If I see her again I'll let her know there's some dudes on the internet who may not approve of her chosen college major or her results on the competition circuit.

the three certainties: death, taxes, men on the internet having an outsized and deeply-held opinion about teenage girls

Pat Light wrote:

the three certainties: death, taxes, men on the internet having an outsized and deeply-held opinion about teenage girls

Also on the Internet: a 22 year old is a "teenager"?