Climber Margo Hayes Won’t Stop Scaling Record Books

She made history in 2017 but she's not even close to stopping.

margo hayes
Margo Hayes of the United States competes during the Sport Climbing Lead Single Women's Qualification of The World Games. (Matthias Hangst/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Bongarts/Getty Images

Record-breaking climber Margo Hayes doesn’t stop ascending. According to Outside, during a three-hour stint at the climbing gym in Boulder, Colorado, there is barely a time that she’s not on the wall. And when she’s done climbing, she goes running. The 20-year-old made history in 2017 with her breakthrough ascent of La Rambla, a 135-foot endurance rally up an achingly steep line in Siurana, Spain. She was the first woman to climb a consensus 5.15 route. A picture of her, posted by Matty Hong, her former coach and La Rambla belay partner, made the rounds. In it, Hayes “clutches her arms in disbelief, her face registering a flawless illustration of strength and vulnerability,” writes Outside. The shot got more than 24,000 likes.

But she was just getting started. Seven months later, Hayes repeated the feat by sending her second 5.15a route, Biographie/Realization, in Céüse, France. Despite her massive accomplishments, Hayes has remained relatively under the radar. She is quietly eyeing the 2020 Olympic Games, the first to feature a climbing competition. The young woman is conscious of her new status as a role model, telling Outside, “It’s a responsibility, but it’s also an honor. I’ve been fortunate enough to have so many great people to look up to that I feel like I’m giving back a little bit to the community that has given so much to me.”

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