{{Short description|American rock climber (born 1997)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox climber | name = Jesse Grupper | image = 2019 Sport & Speed Open Nationals - Finals - Jesse Grupper - 15.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = 2019 Sport & Speed Open National final | nickname = | nationality = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1997|01|06}} | birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = | education = *Tufts University School of Engineering * Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences | occupation = | height = 180 cm | weight = | website = {{URL|1=https://jessegrupper.weebly.com/|2=Jesse Grupper}} | typeofclimber = {{flatlist| *Competition climbing *Sport climbing *Bouldering}} | apeindex = +2 | highestgrade = | highestredpoint = {{climbing grade|9a+}} | highestonsight = | highestboulder = {{boulder grade|V14}} | knownfor = | firstascents = | namedroutes = | majorascents = | retired = | worlds = | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's competition climbing }} {{MedalCountry | {{USA}} }} {{MedalCompetition|World Cup}} {{MedalGold|2022 Briançon|Lead}} {{MedalGold|2022 Edinburgh|Lead}} {{MedalSilver|2023 Koper|Lead}} {{MedalSilver|2022 Villars|Lead}} {{MedalBronze|2022 Innsbruck|Lead}} {{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}} {{MedalGold|2023 Santiago|Bouldering & Lead}} | show-medals = | updated = }} '''Jesse Grupper''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|r|uː|p|ər}} {{respell|GROO|pər}}; born January 6, 1997)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/jesse-grupper_1950303|title=GRUPPER Jesse |date=2024 |website=Olympics.com |access-date=8 August 2024}}</ref> is an American Olympic rock climber who specializes in competition climbing. In 2022, Grupper came in third overall in the 2022 IFSC Climbing World Cup in the competition lead climbing discipline. He earned the gold medal in the 2023 Pan American Championships in the combined boulder and lead climbing discipline. Grupper is competing for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Men's combined sport climbing on August 5, 7, and 9, 2024.
== Early life ==
Grupper was born on January 6, 1997, in New York City<ref>{{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/jesse-grupper_1950303 |title=Grupper Jesse |website=Olympics.com |access-date=August 5, 2024}}</ref> to Jonathan and Cathy Grupper, and his hometown is Upper Montclair, New Jersey.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jesse Grupper |url=https://jessegrupper.weebly.com/ |publisher=Weebly |access-date=August 6, 2024}}</ref><ref name=char/><ref name=pri>Priya Desai (July 19, 2024). [https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/meet-some-of-the-new-yorkers-who-are-competing-in-the-paris-olympics "Meet some of the New Yorkers who are competing in the Paris Olympics,"] ''Gothamist''.</ref> He is Jewish, and he and his family belong to Montclair's Reconstructionist Bnai Keshet synagogue, where Grupper commemorated his ''bar mitzvah''.<ref name=jta/> Ruth and Edward Grupper, his grandparents, assisted in founding the Rockland County, New York, New City Jewish Center Conservative synagogue.<ref name=jta/>
He was diagnosed as a teenager with ulcerative colitis, an incurable inflammatory bowel disease; Grupper receives a medical infusion for the condition every eight weeks, and follows a gluten-free diet.<ref name=Pam/><ref name=ari>Ari Schneider (October 16, 2019). [https://www.climbing.com/people/helping-hands-how-jesse-grupper-went-from-sending-hard-to-helping-others/ "Helping Hands: How Jesse Grupper Went From Sending Hard to Helping Others,"] ''Climbing''.</ref><ref name=jta>Jacob Gurvis (July 10, 2024). [https://www.jta.org/2024/07/10/sports/claire-weinstein-jessica-fox-and-12-other-jewish-athletes-to-watch-in-the-2024-paris-olympics "Claire Weinstein, Jessica Fox and 16 other Jewish athletes to watch in the 2024 Paris Olympics,"] JTA.</ref> In January 2021, he was in the hospital for a week after his medication stopped working, and he had a colitis flare-up; his father said that the incident brought Grupper to "death's door".<ref name=Greg/> He has been a longtime volunteer coach at a gym for a program helping kids who have disabilities.<ref name=dis>Mike Gavin (July 10, 2024). [https://www.nbcnewyork.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/jesse-grupper-2024-paris-olympics-climbing/5580465/ "How Team USA's Jesse Grupper helps climbers with disabilities reach new heights,"] ''NBC New York''.</ref>
Grupper attended Montclair High School.<ref name=bnai>[https://www.bnaikeshet.org/member-menschenings.html?post_id=21067 "Montclair High student tops field at USA Climbing's 2014 Sport Climbing Series,"] ''The Montclair Times'', July 27, 2014.</ref> He graduated in 2015.<ref>Pamela Weber-Leaf (July 2024). [https://digital.njmonthly.com/njmonthly/july_2024/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1985922#articleId1985922 "Rock Star,"] ''New Jersey Monthly''.</ref>
He then attended the Tufts University School of Engineering, from which Grupper graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 2019.<ref name=dis/> He was a member of the university's climbing team, and started the Biomechanics Club to create devices to help people with disabilities.<ref name=dis/><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2024 |title=A Jumbo Presence at the Paris Games |url=https://now.tufts.edu/2024/07/10/jumbo-presence-paris-games |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=Tufts Now |language=en}}</ref> As a sophomore he created a prosthetic for a teenage hockey player who had a cleft hand, which helped him both hit the hockey puck with greater power, and perform daily tasks such as brushing his teeth.<ref name=ari/>
After graduating, Grupper worked on human performance for a period of time at the Boston, Massachusetts, bio-design firm Harvard Biodesign Lab, developing exoskeletons for stroke victims to restore their movement. He is a research fellow at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.<ref>Marc Chalufour (January 31, 2022). [https://now.tufts.edu/2022/01/31/jesse-grupper-reaches-peak-competitive-climbing "Jesse Grupper Reaches Peak of Competitive Climbing,"] ''Tufts Now''.</ref><ref name=dis/><ref name=wired>[https://www.wired.com/story/jesse-grupper-gear-olympics-2024/ "What Sport Climber Jesse Grupper Is Bringing to the Paris Olympics,"] ''Wired'', July 23, 2024.</ref>
Grupper lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he also trains.<ref name=char>Charlotte Ortzian (May 31, 2024). [https://montclairlocal.news/2024/05/to-the-top-olympic-climber-jesse-grupper-montclair-paris-olympics/ "To the Top: Montclair Climber Jesse Grupper Headed to Paris Olympics,"] ''Montclair Local''.</ref> He is 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) tall.<ref name=Bob/>
==Career== ===Early years=== Grupper began climbing when he was six years old, when his parents enrolled him in a rock climbing class in the indoor New Jersey Rock Gym in Fairfield, New Jersey, as his older sister Maddy began taking climbing lessons.<ref name=char/><ref name=Bob>Bob Reinert (May 11, 2023). [https://www.teamusa.com/news/2023/may/11/jesse-grupper-looks-to-climb-higher-up-the-world-rankings-after-breakout-season "Jesse Grupper Looks To Climb Higher Up The World Rankings After Breakout Season,"] Team USA.</ref><ref name=pri/><ref name=fast/> Three years later, he began competing.<ref name=three>[https://nj1015.com/mother-charged-murder-daughters-drowned/ "Look for these NJ athletes at the Paris Olympics,"] New Jersey 101.5.</ref> He specializes in lead climbing, which consists of climbing a wall as high as one can in a six-minute timeframe, while using some equipment.<ref name=pri/> Randi Goldberg is his longtime coach.<ref name=Pam>Pamela Weber-Leaf (June 19, 2024). [https://njmonthly.com/articles/news/jesse-grupper-paris-olympics-2024/ "How Montclair's Jesse Grupper Climbed His Way to the 2024 Olympics,"] ''New Jersey Monthly''.</ref>
In 2008, when he was 11 years old, he won the USA Climbing Youth Bouldering Nationals.<ref name=ari/> In 2014, Grupper won the "Youth A" USA Climbing's 2014 Sport Climbing Series Youth National Championships, in Atlanta, Georgia.<ref name=bnai/> In 2015, he competed in the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships in Arco, Italy, and won the silver medal, and in 2018 he won the Collegiate Sport National Championships in Houston, Texas.<ref name=ari/> He won the gold medal in the 2019 USA Climbing Sport Open Nationals.<ref name=Greg>Greg Hyatt (July 10, 2024). [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/climber-overcame-chronic-health-condition-left-deaths-door-en-route-pa-rcna160283 "Climber overcame a chronic health condition that left him on 'death's door' en route to Paris Olympics,"] ''NBC News''.</ref>
===2022–present=== In 2022, Grupper took the bronze medal in the 2022 IFSC Climbing World Cup in the overall competition lead climbing discipline,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gripped.com/indoor-climbing/a-recap-of-the-2022-ifsc-climbing-world-cup/ |title=A Recap of the 2022 IFSC Climbing World Cup Season |first=Aaron |last=Pardy |date= November 1, 2022 |website=gripped.com |access-date=August 5, 2024}}</ref> with two stage wins, one second, and one third through the seven international stages of the 2022 World Cup.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ifsc.results.info/#/athlete/1749 |title=Jesse Grupper |website=ifsc.results.info |access-date=August 5, 2024}}</ref>
He took the gold medal in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, in the combined boulder and lead climbing discipline, thus qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.<ref name=char/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Culbertson |first=Mary |date=October 24, 2023 |title=SLC climber qualifies for Paris Olympics |url=https://ksltv.com/597052/slc-climber-qualifies-for-paris-olympics/ |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=KSLTV.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pardy |first=Aaron |date=October 24, 2023 |title=Jesse Grupper Is Going to the Olympics |url=https://gripped.com/indoor-climbing/jesse-grupper-is-going-to-the-olympics/ |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=Gripped Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
In April 2024 Grupper was the #1 ranked United States men's lead climber, and ranked #3 in boulder and lead.<ref name=fast>Annie Fast (April 23, 2024). [https://olympics.com/en/news/six-things-you-didn-t-know-about-team-usa-sport-climber-jesse-grupper "Six things you didn't know about Team USA sport climber Jesse Grupper,"] Olympics.com.</ref> At that point, he had been a member of the United States youth team ten times, and a member of the United States open team five times.<ref name=fast/>
====2024 Paris Olympics==== Grupper is competing for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which is the second Olympic competition in sport climbing, in Men's combined sport climbing at the Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue in Le Bourget in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris on August 5, 7 and 9, 2024.<ref name=three/><ref name=wired/>
=== World Cup === ==== Rankings ==== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | Discipline ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2022 |- | align="left" | Lead | style="background: #cc9966"| 3 |}
==See also==
* List of Jewish rock climbers
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://www.instagram.com/yayjesse_g/?hl=en Instagram page] *Tommaso Proietti, Kristin Nuckols, Jesse Grupper, Diogo Schwerz de Lucena, Bianca Inirio, Kelley Porazinski, Diana Wagner, Tazzy Cole, Christina Glover (January 26, 2024). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/wearable-technologies/article/combining-soft-robotics-and-telerehabilitation-for-improving-motor-function-after-stroke/60A43ECC3F957B2C89A4CB6100E16D88 "Combining soft robotics and telerehabilitation for improving motor function after stroke,"] Cambridge University Press.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grupper, Jesse}} Category:1997 births Category:Living people Category:American competition climbers Category:American rock climbers Category:Boulder climbers Category:Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Category:IFSC Climbing World Cup overall medalists Category:Jewish American sportspeople Category:Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Category:Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni Category:People with ulcerative colitis Category:Sport climbers at the 2023 Pan American Games Category:Sport climbers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Category:Sportspeople from Montclair, New Jersey Category:Sportspeople from New York City Category:Sportspeople from Salt Lake City Category:Tufts Jumbos athletes Category:Tufts University School of Engineering alumni Category:Olympic sport climbers for the United States