Nat Vorelis training for LA28 in swimming and rowing, and still competes in climbing — right now, it's a full-time job.
But Nat didn't grow up in para sport.
A college swimmer who fell for climbing on the very first route she tried, Nat graduated in 2020, turned 22 a week later, and a week after that took a 30-foot ground fall that fractured her spine.
Mat Hotho and Nat talk about the long limbo of a spinal cord injury, why she traded PT for the climbing gym, and what classification feels like across three sports with three different systems.
Nat also breaks down the mental framework she competes with—a whole cast of characters in her head, each with a job—and makes the case that the training isn't the hard part.
Check out Adaptive Climbers Fest.
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