No woman is doing more to eliminate climbing鈥檚 gender gap than Sasha DiGiulian, the 19-year-old who last October became the first American female to climb a 5.14d route when she sent Pure Imagination, in Kentucky鈥檚 Red River Gorge. The ascent capped off a breakout year for DiGiulian, during which she won the gold medal overall at the Climbing World Championships in Arco, Italy. But it also exposed the five-foot-two, 95-pound climber to critics who accused her of starving herself to shed weight. Not content just to dominate climbing, DiGiulian will start at Columbia University, in New York City, this August. She spoke to Adam Roy from Spain, where she was taking a rest day from filming for the Reel Rock Film Tour鈥攁nd sending Era Vella, her second 5.14d.
You鈥檝e been on a roll since last year. What鈥檚 gotten into you?
I鈥檓 just climbing more. I graduated high school and started climbing full time. I also had a real turning point in March, when [in Red River Gorge], my first 5.14c. I鈥檇 never tried a 5.14c route before鈥擨鈥檇 always thought it was above me. I聽 just put on my shoes and went for it, and I did all the moves聽 on my first try.
And now you鈥檙e moving to New York City, one of the worst places for a climber.
I鈥檝e been hearing that a lot. But I don鈥檛 see a reason to slow down. I鈥檒l continue training hard. But I want something else than climbing going on in my life. I鈥檓 interested in business and marketing. I鈥檇 like to learn about working with athletes from a corporate standpoint.
There鈥檚 a lot of talk about climbing being included in the 2020 Olympics. You鈥檒l be 27 then. Do you think you鈥檇 compete?
I would love to. I鈥檓 an athlete representative on the board of the , and we鈥檙e putting together the bid. I hope that it won鈥檛 just be speed climbing. It would need to be a little quicker-paced than sport climbing, and maybe a little more spectacular than bouldering.
What about deepwater soloing? Just set up a big wall over a pool and have people go at it with no ropes.
I think that would be really popular.
After you did Pure Imagination, some commenters accused you online of purposely starving yourself to improve your strength-to-weight ratio.
Yeah, that was fun.
There are a lot of skinny male climbers, but only female climbers get called out about eating disorders. How come?
It鈥檚 almost like there鈥檚 an egotism related to it. Machismo, maybe. There has been more girl power in climbing. And, in response, the climbs women accomplish are downgraded. There鈥檚 always going to be some negativity toward female achievements in sports. That鈥檚 why we need strong role models, to help inspire young girls to go out and try their hardest and know that it matters.
Do you think we鈥檙e close to seeing a time when women climb at the same level as men?
It鈥檚 hard to say. There are definitely routes that cater more to women鈥檚 strengths. I have a hard time with really powerful, dynamic sequences because of my build. I鈥檓 five-foot-two and don鈥檛 have bulging biceps like Popeye. But I maybe have better technique and endurance than Popeye.