Legendary climber Chris Sharma made a surprise return to competition, joining the largely teenage field at an all-comers event this weekend in New Jersey.
The 43-year-old Sharma has competed only rarely in the past two decades, focusing instead on outdoor climbing, where he has put up some of the most difficult and iconic routes in the world.
At the New Jersey event, part of the North American Cup Series, he made a strong showing against climbers less than half his age, taking the $750 second prize Saturday in the lead discipline.
The winner was Sergey Lakhno, a 19-year-old from Seattle.
Sharma wasn’t the only veteran among the 51 men: Finishing sixth was 37-year-old Vasya Vorotnikov, the U.S. sport climbing champion in 2012.
The women’s division was won by Jojo Chi, a New Jersey 15-year-old who’s the reigning national bouldering champion in her age group.
The event at Hackensack’s GOAT Climbing Gym was part of a series that draws mostly high-level climbers in their teens and early 20s, competing for a small purse and points toward national ranking.
Sharma, who grew up in Santa Cruz, had a breakout performance at age 14, winning the U.S. open bouldering championship. While still in his teen years, he won medals in international competition.
He lives in Spain with his wife and two children, and he runs two gyms in the Barcelona area.
Sharma’s final climb from the competition starts around 1 hour 30 minutes on the video below.
