Our ‘Star’ is climbing to the top! One of our Year 13 students is going to the Olympics?

This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking to Star O Ehiogu, a Year 13 student at KEDs, about her incredibly impressive feats in one of the least known but most competitive sports: speed climbing, a sport where athletes compete to climb the same standardised wall, to see who will get there the fastest. Think of a hurdle course but going up like rock climbing! 

The wall itself stands at 15m tall, which is nearly 9 Tom Cruises standing on each other’s heads (think of that!). It also sits at an incline of 5 degrees, which does not sound like much, but when you are already up meters off the ground, it makes it even more challenging. The world record stands at 4.6 seconds for men and the record is held by an American named Sam Watson but forget about him. This is about Star! 

Star represents Nigeria and is currently the fastest known speed climber in not just Nigeria, but the whole of Africa. Star has been climbing the competitive rankings, quite literally, since she was about 10 years old and discovered her love of climbing at one of those rock-climbing parties, that I think we all went to. However, Star took this passion all the way to the top as she trains frequently and very intensely. Lots of plyometrics at the gym, which is where you jump on big boxes to increase your vertical jumping height, a key element of climbing up the massive wall. Star herself has said the sport can be very mentally draining, as well as physically. After all, everyone climbs the same wall with the same set of obstacles across the world, so the room for improvement gets “steeper” with every new record. This can lead to a lack of motivation, but Star sees it as a chance to show her endurance and improve every time, even if only a fraction of an amount. 

Star has gone all over the world, competing against the best speed climbers that countries have to offer. From the UK, to Germany, to Spain, Star has no sign of slowing down and her long-term goal is to compete in and win the 2028 Olympics! So, we will all be able to say we went to college with a world champion. All we can do is support Star in her phenomenal achievements. It seems this prodigy of King Ed’s is climbing to the top! 

Ellis J Waddams

(Source of picture:BOP Sport Climbing Association Speed Wall | TECT)