Olympians Return to Dominance: 2026 USA Lead Nationals Recap

Date: February 13, 2026
Event: 2026 YETI Climbing National Championships
Location: High Point Climbing and Fitness, Orlando, Florida

The 2026 competition season kicked off with a roar in Orlando, Florida, as the nation's best climbers gathered for the USA Climbing National Championships. While the field was packed with rising talent, the Lead finals on Friday the 13th belonged to two familiar faces: Olympians Brooke Raboutou and Colin Duffy.

In front of a sold-out crowd at High Point Climbing, both athletes reminded the world why they are staples of the international circuit, securing Gold in their respective categories with decisive performances.

Women's Final: Raboutou Conquers the Crux

The Women's final was defined by a brutal separator early in the route. A complex "double-clutch" move around Hold 18 decimated the field, shutting down seven of the ten finalists. Competitors struggled to coordinate the simultaneous hand movement required to stick the position.

Brooke Raboutou, entering the finals as the top seed, approached the crux with a different beta. Instead of the desperate dynamic movement that foiled others, she planted her feet and gracefully crossed through the section. She continued powering through the headwall, falling just shy of the top hold to secure a score of 46.

 Historical Note: Surprisingly, this marks Brooke Raboutou's first-ever National Championship title, despite her years of international podiums and Olympic appearances. 

Analise Van Hoang secured Silver with a fighting performance, managing to pull through the lower crux to reach hold 34+. Alexandra Inghilterra rounded out the podium in Bronze.

Women's Lead Podium Results

Rank	Athlete	Score
🥇 Gold	Brooke Raboutou	46
🥈 Silver	Analise Van Hoang	34+
🥉 Bronze	Alexandra Inghilterra	24+
4	Ella Fisher	18+
5	Adriene Akiko Clark	18+

Men's Final: Duffy's Masterclass

The Men's route featured a steep, powerful middle section that tested the endurance of the heavy hitters. Jesse Grupper, known for his incredible stamina, set an early high point of 28, looking strong until falling on a transition move.

Dillon Countryman then surged past Grupper's high point, nearly clearing the steep section to touch hold 34, a performance that would eventually earn him the Silver medal.

However, the night belonged to Colin Duffy. Climbing with visible flow and precision, Duffy unlocked the steep section that had fatigued the rest of the field. He moved deliberately through the dual-texture macros on the headwall before finally slipping on a small crimp at hold 47. It was a commanding victory, marking his second National Title and his first in the Lead discipline.