Adriene Akiko Clark

Adriene Akiko Clark (; ); born December 6, 2004) is an American professional rock climber who competes in competition climbing, including the IFSC Climbing World Cup and national-level events. Representing the United States, Clark specializes in bouldering and lead climbing, and is a member of the 2025 USA Climbing National Team.

Clark earned her first international medal by winning gold in bouldering at the 2024 IFSC Pan American Championships, securing her spot on the 2025 USA National Team.

Early life

Clark was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Initially trying ballet and gymnastics, Clark was introduced to rock climbing at age four during a visit to REI. She began climbing at the age of 7 at Upper Limits Climbing Gym and soon joined Team Upper Limits. She competed in her first climbing competition on November 10, 2012, and attended her first USA Climbing Nationals in January 2013 at age 8. She was sponsored by Five Ten Footwear from a young age.

Competition climbing career

Clark qualified for multiple international events during her youth career but declined to participate in the Youth World Championships. Her international debut came at the 2022 IFSC World Cup in Seoul, South Korea, on May 8, 2022, where she placed 39th in Women's Boulder. The event was won by American teammate Natalia Grossman.

In 2024, Clark became involved in a scoring controversy during the USA Climbing National Team Trials. In the final round, Clark was leading, with a would-be score of 38+, ahead of fellow finalists Olivia Ma and Annie Sanders. However, all finalists' scores were paused at 36 after officials controversially ruled that it was impossible to reach and clip the protection point beyond hold 36 in accordance with Rule 7.11.2 (b)(iv). All finalists disagreed with the call, and Sanders handed Clark her gold medal.

At the 2025 USA Climbing National Team Trials, Clark won the Women's Lead category. Her combined result secured her a position on the 2025 U.S. Lead National Team.

Before her pro debut, Clark participated in the 2022 and 2023 BFL Climbing Combine.

Pre-pro measurables Height Weight (lb) Bench Press Max Bench Press % BW Hollow Body Grippul Lift (lb) Grippul % BW Vertical Jump (in) Weighted Pull-Up (lb) Weighted Pull-Up % BW 1 Arm Lockoff (lb) 1 Arm Lockoff % BW 5′6″(1.68 m) 120(54 kg) 80(36 kg) 0.667 0:55:31 95(43 kg) 0.792 22(0.55 m) 65(29 kg)) 0.540 25(11 kg) 0.208 All values from 2023 BFL Climbing Combine. National Titles 2026 Lead 3rd Place – Portland Rock Gym, Beaverton (3rd place) 2025 Lead Champion – Mesa Rim Climbing Center, Austin (1st place) 2025 Boulder 2nd Place – Mesa Rim Climbing Center, Austin (2nd place) 2024 Lead 3rd Place – Sportrock, Rio (3rd place) 2023 Lead 2nd Place – YETI Nationals, Vertical View (2nd place) 2022 Boulder Champion – Stone Summit, Atlanta (1st place)

International Career 2022 World Cup Season

Clark made her senior debut at the 2022 IFSC World Cup in Seoul, where she placed 39th in Women's Boulder. The event was won by Natalia Grossman, who led a strong U.S. performance at the competition.

Later in May 2022, she participated in the 2022 IFSC Climbing World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she placed 17th in the first bouldering event and 31st in the second.

2023 World Cup Season Clark competed in the 2023 IFSC World Cup Boulder World Cup in Prague, finishing 19th among a field of international athletes. The event was won by France's Oriane Bertone, with Clark as the only U.S. athlete in the top 20.

2024 World Cup Season Clark won her first international gold medal in 2024, taking first place in Women's Boulder at the IFSC Pan American Championships in Santiago, Chile, ahead of Argentina's Valentina Aguado and Canada's Jacqueline Ho. The result qualified her for the 2025 IFSC World Cup circuit and the U.S. National Team.

In 2024, Clark was among several Team USA climbers who were unable to compete at the IFSC World Cup in Briançon, France, due to a clerical error by USA Climbing. The governing body failed to confirm their participation, resulting in disqualification from the event.

2025 World Cup Season Clark was selected as one of five American lead climbers on the U.S. team for the 2025 IFSC World Cup season, including the Bali stop, alongside fellow athletes like Zoe Yi and Colin Duffy. Clark opened her 2025 season at the IFSC Boulder World Cup in Keqiao, China, where she placed 24th in the qualification round. She then competed in the Lead World Cup in Wujiang, China, placing 29th.

In May, Clark finished 26th in the Lead World Cup in Bali, Indonesia.

She concluded the first half of her season with a 29th-place finish in the Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah.

At the 2025 IFSC Boulder World Cup in Prague, Clark finished 21st in the qualification rounds, making the cut for semi-finals. She placed alongside notable climbers such as Japan's Mao Nakamura and Israel's Ayala Kerem in a close four-way tie for the final 21st spot.

In September 2025, Clark competed at her first IFSC Climbing World Championships in Seoul, placing 44th in the women's lead qualification round.

2026 World Cup Season Clark qualified for both Boulder and Lead National teams, placing third in Lead Women's finals, selected as one of five American climbers on the U.S. team for the 2026 World Climbing Series season, alongside fellow athletes Brooke Raboutou, Melina Costanza, and Nekaia Sanders.

National and International Results National Results National Championships and Team Trials Year Event Discipline Rank Location 2026 USAC National Team Trials Lead 3rd Portland Rock Gym, Beaverton 2026 USAC National Team Trials Boulder 8th Portland Rock Gym, Beaverton 2025 USAC National Team Trials Lead 1st Mesa Rim Climbing Center, Austin 2025 USAC National Team Trials Boulder 2nd Mesa Rim Climbing Center, Austin 2024 USAC National Team Trials Lead 3rd Sportrock, Virginia 2024 USAC National Team Trials Boulder 4th Sportrock, Virginia 2023 USAC National Team Trials Lead 2nd Vertical View, Idaho 2023 USAC National Team Trials Boulder 4th Mesa Rim Climbing Center, Texas 2022 USAC National Team Trials Boulder 6th Stone Summit, Georgia 2021 YETI National Championships Boulder 5th Salt Lake City, Utah Results sourced from USA Climbing Results.

International Results IFSC Podiums

Discipline 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Bouldering – – 1 – – Lead – – – – –

IFSC World Cup and Continental Rankings +Representing the United States Event City Date Discipline Rank 2026 World Climbing Series Prague 2026-06-07 Boulder 31 2026 World Climbing Series Alcobendas 2026-05-31 Boulder 29 2026 World Climbing Series Wujiang 2026-05-10 Lead 25 2026 World Climbing Series Keqiao 2026-05-03 Boulder 21 2025 IFSC World Cup Korea 2025-07-19 Boulder 43 2025 IFSC World Cup Korea 2025-00-28 Lead 48 2025 IFSC World Cup Spain 2025-07-19 Lead 50 2025 IFSC World Cup Chamonix 2025-07-13 Lead 32 2025 IFSC World Cup Innsbruck 2025-06-29 Lead 15 2025 IFSC World Cup Innsbruck 2025-06-29 Boulder 20 2025 IFSC World Cup Bern 2025-06-15 Boulder 37 2025 IFSC World Cup Prague 2025-06-08 Boulder 22 2025 IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City, USA 2025-05-26 Boulder 29 2025 IFSC World Cup Bali, India 2025-05-04 Lead 26 2025 IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2025-04-27 Lead 29 2025 IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2025-04-20 Boulder 24 2024 IFSC Pan American Championships Santiago 2024-11-25 Boulder 1 2024 IFSC Pan American Championships Santiago 2024-11-25 Lead 13 2024 IFSC World Cup Koper 2024-09-07 Lead 38 2024 IFSC World Cup Chamonix 2024-07-14 Lead 31 2024 IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City 2024-05-06 Boulder 23 2024 IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2024-04-14 Lead 21 2023 IFSC World Cup Briançon 2023-07-15 Lead 29 2023 IFSC World Cup Chamonix 2023-07-09 Lead 59 2023 IFSC World Cup Villars-sur-Ollon 2023-07-02 Lead 63 2023 IFSC World Cup Prague 2023-06-04 Boulder 19 2023 IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City 2023-05-22 Boulder 39 2022 IFSC World Cup (B) Brixen, Italy 2022-06-12 Boulder 31 2022 IFSC World Cup (B,S) Salt Lake City 2022-05-30 Boulder 31 2022 IFSC World Cup (B,S) Salt Lake City 2022-05-23 Boulder 17 2022 IFSC World Cup (B,S) Seoul 2022-05-08 Boulder 39

Sourced from the International Federation of Sport Climbing