KENNESAW, Ga. — A Kennesaw State student will head to the Paris Olympics next year among the favorites in her sport after she clinched a silver medal at the world championships earlier this month.
Emma Hunt solidified her place as a speed climbing star with the performance in Bern, Switzerland at the IFSC World Climbing Championships.
The 20-year-old from Woodstock recorded her climb in 6.672 seconds for second place to Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi of Indonesia.
“I couldn’t believe it. It still has not really sunk in yet,” Hunt told the KSU news site in a release. “Qualifying to compete in Paris is something I have been dreaming of and working toward for a long time.”
According to the release, Hunt began speed climbing in 2015 and is now the American record holder; the sport debuted at the Olympics at the Tokyo Games. The goal is simple - climb a 50-foot wall, dotted by hand and foot holds to create varying degrees of difficulty, as fast as you can.
“Being qualified for the Olympics is still very new, so I am not sure how my training will be different from my current training regiment,” Hunt told the KSU news site. “I’m sure the volume will ramp up."
Hunt also won gold in the 2022 World Games speed climbing event in Birmingham, Alabama. She's fifth in the current season of the climbing World Cup series - which holds events in various cities around the world, and tallies points based on each finish at each event, like auto racing series such as NASCAR or F1.
In the 2022 World Cup series she won silver overall.
Hunt, an exercise science major at Kennesaw State, is currently taking online classes at the school.