Rock Climbing 'Prodigy,' 16, Killed in Cliff Fall

Luce Douady apparently slipped, fell from French cliff
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 16, 2020 3:47 AM CDT
Olympic Hopeful, 16, Killed in Rock Climbing Fall
Luce Douady of France competes during the womens bouldering final competition of the International Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup Saturday, June 8, 2019, in Vail, Colo.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Luce Douady was seen as a "climbing prodigy" and one of the "brightest young talents" in rock climbing, per AFP. But the French 16-year-old Olympic hopeful is dead after falling from a cliff in southeastern France on Sunday, the BBC reports. She reportedly slipped and fell from the approach path on her way to an unexplored sector of the cliff near Grenoble; AFP says the "tricky" path between two climbing areas has a handrail. The French Mountain Climbing Federation expressed the "immense sadness of the climbing community" in a statement, while the International Federation of Sport Climbing, the sport's governing body, called her a "young, brilliant and talented athlete." She was the reigning world junior champion and had achieved many other accomplishments in the climbing world. (More rock climbing stories.)

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