La Sportiva Bolsters Climbing and Mountain Running Teams for 2019 and Beyond
La Sportiva today announces the expansion and solidification of its athlete rosters for 2019 and beyond. Focused primarily on climbing and mountain running athletes, the team is well positioned to not only compete in top races globally but also complete some incredible mountain adventures and linkups that have yet to be tried.
“La Sportiva has always made a significant investment and commitment to our athlete team,” says Jonathan Lantz, president of La Sportiva North America. “While likely best known for some of the climbers that have become household names, we have focused this year on expanding our roster to include athletes of various mountain pursuits who have a variety of goals. From making the Olympic climbing team in 2020, to dreaming up unheard of FKTs and mountain linkups, we can’t wait to see what this group accomplishes in 2019 and beyond. It’s an extremely motivated group that are not only great ambassadors for the brand but also continue to provide feedback and push us to make the best product that we can.”
The new additions to the climbing side are highlighted by Kyra Condie, who recently won the 2019 US Combined National Championships, which earned her spot on the 2019 US World Cup Team and is a front runner for the 2020 US Olympic team. Additional recent signings include Evan Hau, Brittany Goris, Teal Dreher, and Cameron Horst.
On the mountain running side, Anton Krupicka continues to lead the pack and has recommitted to La Sportiva for another three years. Anton continues to blend his ultra running background with other forms of mountain travel for exciting mountain linkups and FKT attempts. The team is rounded out with Kaytlyn Gerbin, Gabe Jones, Kyle Richardson, Jax Mariash, and Jonnah Perkins.
The full list of La Sportiva ambassadors can be found at: https://www.sportiva.com/ambassadors/ and a short synopsis of each new addition is listed below.
Run:
Kaytlyn Gerbin is back on the team for a second year after having another stunning year of performances. In 2018, she placed 2nd at Western States and still went on to get 1st at the rugged Bear 100M later in the year. She is planning on racing Trans Grancanaria, Western States, and UTMB, three of the worlds most rugged, competitive Ultras.
Gabe Joyes is joining the La Sportiva Mountain Running Team in 2019. Relatively unknown, this ultrarunner probably caught some attention back in 2017 with a 4th place at Hardrock 100. In 2018, This middle school teacher from Lander, Wyoming had back to back performances that gained him first place at Orcas Island 100, Bighorn 100 and 5th place at the Wasatch 100 (after falling and spraining his wrist not far into the race). He’s already earning his stripes in 2019 by taking 1st place at Odgen’s RUFA. An event started by Jared Campbell that raises funding and awareness for clean air research and measures in the SLC valley. Next on the race schedule for Gabe is the Canyons Endurance Run.
Anton Krupicka has re-signed for another 3 years with La Sportiva! This Ultra veteran doesn’t have many races on his schedule at the moment, but the way he is blending ultra running with other forms of mountain travel like technical rock climbing and skiing hasn’t stopped turning heads since his Longs Peak Triathlon FKT.
Speaking of all mountain athletes, Kyle Richardson has joined the La Sportiva team and is likely to be popping up on everyone’s news feed. His accomplishments are almost difficult to grasp as the blend climbing techniques with trail running goals in his home town of Boulder, CO. Freshly out of school with a degree in Music, Kyle teaches percussion instruments and can be found almost any day of the year out on or between Boulder’s iconic Flatirons formations.
Jax Mariash has re-signed for 2019 and is working on goals as lofty as gaining a world record for being the first person to win a multi-day stage race on every continent, while also planning on competing in the LeadMan event that links together a summer of trail running and mountain bike races at the Leadville Race Series events, culminating in the Leadville Trail 100 Run presented by La Sportiva!
Jonnah Perkins is joining the 2019 La Sportiva Mountain Running Team! Jonnah is possibly most well-known for operating one of the largest CSA Farms in the country outside of her home town of Madison, WI. She is an avid trail runner who has a passion for connecting her passions and educating athletes on sustainability and local food efforts.
Climb:
Evan Hau is welcomed to the team in 2019! Evan is an engineer turned math and science tutor living in Calgary, AB where he climbs at the highest level in Canada. With several 5.14d sends on his resume, Evan is looking to push his limits throughout North America while contributing the future of climbing by developing routes all over the Bow Valley! Here’s a recent video you can see of Evan competing Neanderthal, a 5.14b FA.
Kyra Condie is a new face on the 2019 La Sportiva climbing team! Kyra is a competitive hopeful in the brave new world of climbing in the Olympics. After she had completely fallen in love with the sport of climbing, she discovered that she had severe, idiopathic scoliosis. It was devastating news, but she wouldn't let her condition hold her back. On March 12, 2010 she had a spinal fusion surgery to correct her 70-degree curvature and took several months to recover. Though she started competitive climbing before her surgery, she didn't win her first major competition until after her time off. She was a 2x World Cup Finalist in 2018 , and the 2019 US Combined National Champion which has gained her a spot on the 2019 US World Cup Team.
Brittany Goris has been following a lifelong calling and dedication to climbing since the first moment she walked into a climbing gym in Fort Collins, CO at 9 years old. She works seasonally at Seattle’s Girls Rock Math, which runs STEM-based summer camps for young girls. She’s an all-around adventure climber that has already ticked off a few 14a’s in her relatively short climbing career. She also helped found the Western Washington University Climbing Team and coached them to four consecutive years of 1st place series wins (2011-2014)
Teal Dreher is a full-time environmental engineer trying to strike the balance between striving to improve at climbing while also trying to save the world. A solid V10 problem solver and 5.13 rope gun, Teal is going to ticking off projects all year and we’re excited to watch!
Cameron Horst is not new to the climbing scene. You may recognize the name since he’s been making headlines since his 14b ascent at age 14! This young phenom has already begun ticking off some of the hardest, most iconic routes in the world. Fresh out of High School, Cameron is going to be taking a gap year to focus on climbing in America’s favorite climbing spots. Many of which he has never been able to climb at in the Fall because it’s always been high school football season and he was team captain!
