Babson student trains for 2020 as climbing debuts at Summer Games

WELLESLEY, Mass. — Most college students fill their schedules with classes, studying and maybe a few parties.

A Babson College freshman is literally reaching a little higher.

Nineteen-year-old Kai Lightner is an elite rock climber. He's currently training for the 2020 Olympics when sport climbing will debut at the games.

"Climbing gives me this euphoric feeling that I really don’t get anywhere else,” said the Fayetteville, North Carolina, native.

Lightner has been attracted to all things vertical since he was a small child. "One day I was climbing a flagpole at my mom's job and someone took notice and helped me get down." That woman suggested a local climbing gym to Lightner’s mother, who took the advice.

It wasn’t long before Lightner was winning competitions, traveling all over the world to conquer challenging heights, and discovering a new way to achieve success.

“I have been an ADHD kid all my life and it’s really hard for me to focus on things sometimes,” explained Lightner.

It quickly becomes crystal clear that focus is not a problem when Lightner trains at the Central Rock Gym in Watertown.

“You have to zero in,” said Lightner. "For example, on an elite climb, I might be looking at all my body positions, all the footholds, all the handholds and then the clipping stances. Then, it’s all about the execution."

Shane Messer, his climbing coach, knew quickly that Lightner was the right combination of mind and muscle.

“Everyone can get out and run and anyone can come in here and climb,” said Messer, "but not everyone can run a four-minute mile." "It’s the same kind of thing with the upper-end of climbing: not everybody can climb at the hardest levels."

“The Olympics is super special because it’s a platform like no other,” said Lightner. You have billions of people watching athletics at its highest and watching the human body pushing itself to its physical limits.”

For now, Lightner is training and adjusting to his first year on Babson’s Wellesley campus. “Time management is definitely really key," he said.

Lightner has earned 12 championships so far. Ten in youth categories and two as an adult.

Cox Media Group