Gripped Magazine
Here’s Who’s Joining the USA National Team in 2026
With the conclusion of the USA National Championships and National Team Trials, the results for the Boulder, Lead, and Speed National Teams are in. Five men and five women qualified for the National Team in each discipline. National Championships and Trials take place once per year. Combined with results in previous comps, the outcomes from these two events help determine who gets a spot on the Boulder, Lead, and Speed National Teams. USA National Team members will have the opportunity to compete in World Climbing (formerly IFSC) events. National Team participation also sets them on the right track for Olympic ticket qualification. Read our detailed article about Olympic qualification here.
Women’s Boulder and Lead
Annie Sanders, Brooke Raboutou, and Adriene Akiko Clark qualified for both the women’s Boulder and Lead National Teams. To round out the teams, joining them is Nekaia Sanders and Melina Costanza in Boulder and Ella Fisher and Analise Van Hoang in Lead.
Surprising to many, Natalia Grossman didn’t make the women’s Boulder National Team. After a year of recovering from an ACL and Meniscus surgery in early 2025, Grossman revealed that in 2026, she partially dislocated her shoulder. She did not compete in the Lead National Team Trials but won the Boulder National Championships and had a solid showing in the Team Trials. She placed fifth overall in Team selection. With Sanders pre-qualified from previous events, this left Grossman out of the five spots reserved on the Team. World Climbing grants USA a quota of six athletes per gender in World Cups, meaning that we can expect to see her competing this year at World Climbing events.
Women’s Boulder National Team
- Annie Sanders (Preselected)
- Melina Costanza
- Nekaia Sanders
- Brooke Raboutou
- Adriene Akiko Clark
Women’s Lead National Team
- Annie Sanders (Preselected)
- Brooke Raboutou
- Ella Fisher
- Analise Van Hoang
- Adriene Akiko Clark
Men’s Boulder and Lead
In men’s, the only athlete on both the Boulder and Lead teams in Colin Duffy. He pre-qualified for the Boulder National Team, but his success in the Team Trials led to him joining to Lead team. Joining Duffy on the Boulder team in Auggie Chi, Hugo Hoyer, Vail Everett, and Ben Hanna. He’s joined by Jesse Grupper, Sergey Lakhno, Ross Fulkerson, and Dillon Countryman on Lead.
Men’s Boulder National Team:
- Colin Duffy (Preselected)
- Auggie Chi
- Hugo Hoyer
- Vail Everett
- Ben Hanna
Men’s Lead National Team:
- Colin Duffy
- Jesse Grupper
- Sergey Lakhno
- Ross Fulkerson
- Dillon Countryman
Women’s Speed National Team
- Emma Hunt (Preselected)
- Sophia Curcio
- Isis Rothfork
- Piper Kelly
- Lily Staudt
Men’s Speed National Team
- Samuel Watson (Preselected)
- Zachary Hammer (Preselected)
- Michael Hom
- Noah Bratschi
- Ben Jennings
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