EVERETT — Sidney Trinidad of Arlington is a gifted multi-sport athlete. As a sophomore at Arlington High School she has already been to state championship meets in both cross country and track and field.
But in the sport of speed climbing, her talents have already taken her to the world championships.
In September, Trinidad was in the New Caledonia capital city of Noumea for the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Youth World Championships. Trinidad, perhaps the premier young female climber in the United States, came within a whisker of a world title in speed climbing, instead finishing second to Ekaterina Barashchuk of Russia in the 14-15 age group.
The 15-year-old Trinidad, who qualified for the world championships by winning three national titles earlier in the summer, was part of a United States team that included close to 40 members. She spent a week in Noumea, plus a few days in nearby Australia before and after the competition.
“It was the farthest (from home) I’d ever gone,” Trinidad said. “It was a lot of traveling. I felt like we were on the plane or in the airport for most of the trip. We didn’t get to do much sightseeing, but it was really cool being with the team.”
Though it was disappointing not to win, she added, “I was just happy that I made the podium.”
The 15-year-old Trinidad started climbing when she was 7 and was soon excelling in the sport. In 2008 she finished with two third places at the U.S. nationals in the 11-and-under age group, and she followed with her first national title a year later. She has since won nine more U.S. championships, including three at this year’s event in Atlanta.
In her eight years of competitive climbing, she has more national youth championships than any other American climber (the next closest has five).
“As a little girl she loved the sport,” said her father Chris Trinidad, who is closely involved in his daughter’s climbing career. “But she’s also very competitive, and she’s always wanted to do her best in any event.
“She had success right away and it just kind of went from there. Her work ethic in terms of training, you don’t see that with most of the kids. They work hard, but she works extremely hard. She does extra without having to be told.”
Alex Fritz, who grew up in Everett and was once one of Trinidad’s teammates, is today one of her coaches. Fritz, who has coached Trinidad for almost five years, says her success is due both to her physical and mental abilities.
“She’s an incredible athlete, and not just in climbing,” he explained. “She’s good at pretty much every sport she participates in. But as far as climbing, she’s very powerful. She’s a lot stronger than most of the girls that come through climbing.”
In addition, he said, “she’s super dedicated and she’s understanding. When you tell her something, she’s able to learn new movements. With her natural strength and her ability to learn movements very quickly, she just has a very natural talent for the sport.”
During the cross country season, Trinidad may have only one climbing workout a week. But when she is not involved with school sports she might train three or four days a week, and usually for several hours at a time. Sometimes she works out at downtown Everett’s Vertical World climbing facility, and sometimes at the club’s Seattle facility.
Competitive climbing “is getting more popular,” Trinidad said, “but not many people do it. Compared to other sports, it’s not very well known. I know for a fact I’m the only person in my school that does it for a sport.”
Trinidad figures she will climb for another few years, though her long-term goal is to get a track and field college scholarship, hopefully to the University of Washington. But in the meantime she expects to get a few more chances at a coveted world championship.
And Fritz, for one, believes she has the potential. He was not surprised by her second place at the recent world championships, nor would he be surprised to see her improve in the future.
“In the next couple of years,” he said, “she definitely could win a world championship.”
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