SPOKANE, Wash. – Friday morning marks the opening ceremonies for the Olympics in Paris, so Nonstop Local looked for future Olympians and Paralympians right here in Spokane and found two promising athletes.
This is Ethan Anderson. He’s 18 years old and has been climbing since he was only 9. That’s when he went to a birthday party at a climbing wall and fell in love.
Anderson was afraid of heights but obsessed with the adrenaline rush, and he was naturally good at climbing.
He immediately joined a local team that encouraged him to compete in nationals, where he has now gone six times in total.
At his peak, Anderson placed 5th in the nation for his age group when he was 11.
Ever since he found out climbing was becoming part of the Olympics in 2020, he knew what his new goal would be. Now he’s focused on getting there.
“It’s just dedication,” said Anderson. “Even if you don’t want to come in, you always have to come in and put in 100% effort…”
Anderson plans to continue working out six days per week to reach his goal, focusing more on nailing routes on the first try because you don’t always know what’s coming when you compete.
Nonstop Local also spoke with future Paralympian Brooklyn Gossard.
She is 13 years old now, but when she was only 15 months old, a doctor told her there was something wrong with her spine, and since then, she’s been in a wheelchair.
Gossard fell in love with sports when she was only five, but it wasn’t until she got connected to Parasport Spokane that she was able to race for the first time with a chair that fit, which contributed to her developing a goal of performing in the Paralympics.
For several years now, Gossard has been competing in races, training her shoulders, and working to improve her overall times to qualify for the 2028 Paralympics, and if her dreams come true, to win gold.
“I feel like it’d be a big accomplishment,” said Gossard. “Just knowing all the work, I put in was worth it in the end…”
Gossard says she plans to spend about an hour training per day, five days a week, to reach her goal by 2028.
Good luck, Brooklyn & Ethan!
