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DENVER (KCNC-TV) — In the time it takes most people to tie a shoe or pour a cup of coffee, Jordan Fishman can scale a 50 foot rock climbing wall in Englewood.
“I just love how fast it goes. It’s make or break with it and anything can happen,” he told KCNC-TV’s Dominic Garcia.
The Smokey Hill High School student has been rock climbing for seven years and for the last four he’s been competing in what’s called speed climbing. Athletes have to climb a rock climbing wall that’s 15 meters (49.21 feet) as fast as they can.
Jordan’s fastest time ever is 6.38 seconds.
“My dad took me to the climbing gym one day just for fun, and from there I was like ‘This is awesome! I love it,’ and then I joined the team and from there I just kept progressing,” said Jordan.
Jordan’s competitions have taken him around the world. He just recently finished second at the Youth World Championships in Moscow, and finished 12th in the Adult World Championships in Austria.
“It’s so cool, like I don’t even have words. It’s just a great experience and so much fun. I mean every competition you learn more and if you make mistakes you learn from them,” he said.
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The metro area has seen an explosion in rock climbing gyms. Jordan thinks the sport is growing because of its simplicity and tight-knit community.
“I think it’s just so different from anything. Like it’s brand new to everyone and it’s interesting.”
Jordan hopes his story inspires others to give the sport a try.
“Come to a climbing gym and just try it out. The climbing community is so friendly and everyone is so open. I feel like everyone could just fall in love with it.”
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Steve Fink
sfink@cbs.com
