Jain Kim
South Korean rock climber (born 1988)
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Jain Kim (Korean: 김자인, born 11 September 1988) is a professional climber who specializes in competition climbing. She is mainly active in competition lead climbing and competition bouldering. She has won the Lead Climbing World Cup three times (2010, 2013, 2014), the Lead Climbing World Championship once (2014), and the Rock Master once (2010, Lead discipline). She has won the Asian Championships 14 times in 15 years, 11 times in lead climbing and 3 times in bouldering (see below for details).
Kim in 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 11 September 1988 Goyang, South Korea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 153 cm (5 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 42 kg (93 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Oh Young-hwan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | jainkim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Climbing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Highest grade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on May 4, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kim has also completed notable sport climbing routes. In 2014, she redpointed her first routes graded above the 8b+ (5.14a) grade, including Bibita Biologica 8c (5.14b) and Reini's Vibes 8c+ (5.14c), both in Arco, Italy.
Early life
Born into a family of mountaineers and climbers,[1] Kim started climbing at age 12. In July 2004, at age 15, she started competing in the Lead Climbing World Cup and since 2006, she has also participated in the Bouldering World Cup.[citation needed]
Climbing career
Competition climbing
She won the Lead Climbing Asian Championship in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2008, she also won the Bouldering Asian Championship. In 2009, she ranked second in the Lead Climbing World Cup,[2] second in the Lead Climbing World Championship,[3] second in the World Games (Lead), and third in the Rock Master (Lead).[4]
In 2010, she won the competition lead climbing events both in the Rock Master[5] and the World Cup.[6] She obtained the World Cup overall title by ranking first in five of the six stages, namely those held in Xining, Chuncheon, Puurs, Huaiji, and Kranj. The only World Cup stage that Jain Kim did not win in 2010 was the first one, held in Chamonix. She won the Lead Climbing World Cup again in 2013 and 2014, each time winning four of the eight events.
On September 14, 2014, three days after she had turned 26, she achieved an extraordinary victory at the 2014 IFSC Climbing World Championships, where she managed to ascend (on-sight) all of the routes attempted in the lead climbing event in qualifications, the semifinals, and the final rounds.
Upon winning the gold Lead World Cup in Chamonix on July 9, 2023, Kim became the oldest woman to win a Lead World Cup at 34 years old.[7]
Rock climbing
In May and June 2014, she redpointed her first sport climbing routes on outdoor rock above the 8b+ (5.14a) climbing grade, namely Bibita Biologica 8c (5.14b) and Reini's Vibes (8c/8c+), both in Arco, Italy.
On May 20, 2017, she climbed the 555-meter Lotte World Tower in Seoul.[8]
Personal life
She is married to Oh Young-hwan, a member of the 21st National Assembly of Korea, who was a firefighter of Seoul Fire Services and writer.[9] On March 10, 2021, Kim gave birth to a daughter.[10]
Rankings
Climbing World Cup
| Discipline[11] | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 25 | 18 | 28 | 14 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | |
| Bouldering | – | – | 36 | – | 51 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 29 | – | – | – | 18 | 48 | 35 | 51 |
| Speed | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 30 | – | – | 75 | – | – |
| Combined | – | – | 21 | – | 25 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 8 | 8 |
Climbing World Championships
Youth[12]
| Discipline | 2005 Youth A |
|---|---|
| Lead | 22 |
Adult[12]
| Discipline | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 32 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 22 |
| Bouldering | 12 | 45 | 17 | 11 | 5 | – | – | 41 | 25 |
| Speed | – | – | – | – | 41 | – | – | 54 | 59 |
| Combined | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 40 |
World Games
| Discipline | 2005 | 2009 | 2013 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Rock Master
| Discipline | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 3 | 1 | – | – | 2 |
| Duel | – | – | 5 | – | 3 |
Asian Championships
| Discipline[12] | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 3 | – | 1 | 3 |
| Bouldering | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – |
World Cup podiums
Television
| Year | Program | Original title | Network | Role | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Running Man | 런닝맨 | SBS | Guest | Episode 268 | [13] |
| 2021 | Sporty Sisters 2 | 노는언니2 | E Channel | Member | [14] |
