Annie Wu: The Path to Self-Breakthrough

Our first interviewed athlete looks back on her athletic journey as a rock-climber and swimmer.

Annie is one of the co-founders of Collecting Voices of Female Athletes. She is currently 14 years old and has focused on climbing and swimming for the past 9 years. Throughout the years of playing these two sports, she has gained valuable experience and has also persevered through many challenges. Annie shares her story of how she developed passion and overcame the difficulties along the way for rock-climbing and swimming. What triggered her to become who she is today?

"When I was 7, I started rock-climbing and swimming. Playing these two sports was a commitment for me, and I never thought of giving them up. I always enjoyed being a competitive athlete and improving my skills through participating in competitions where I could testify my strengths and learn a lot from my competitors. However, all those precious memories and the promising future seemed so far away and out of reach when I got my first period – I was in so much pain that I couldn’t run, skip, train, or even lift my fingers."

"I felt like I was slowly being torn apart watching others swim practice, but there was nothing I could do about it."

"Frightened, anxious, confused. I knew I was behind, so I trained even harder once I recovered. But the next period was waiting for me to go through the same struggle again. That was when I decided to form an affinity group of young female athletes who had been dealing with the same struggles and challenges since puberty hit. I gained so much support from my best friends and coaches, and they gave me so much courage to make it happen. After so many years of experiencing puberty hit, with the support that I gained from my family and friends, I realized that maybe one person had limited power and resources, but with many of us, we could support each other and make a difference. I continued pursuing the sports I love – rock-climbing and swimming to the best of my abilities. It turned out that my perseverance does make a difference – I just received my National Level II Swimmer Certificate."

Annie in Her Rock-Climbing Training

After Annie shared her personal story about her encounter with the two sports, she also came up with some advice for other female athletes who are facing challenges in their journey to pursue their interests. Annie talked about how being a female, in particular, has impacted her athletic career as a rock-climber and what to expect when difficulties arise.

What have you learned from rock climbing over the years?

I used to be very afraid of failure, but rock-climbing has made me able to bounce back and endure failure. Since this sport is about climbing up, falling down and trying again, failure is normal. Also, I can't always be the winner in competitions because my opponents also work very hard.

Describe how being a female affects your performance as an athlete.

The fact that I'm a female player doesn't directly affect my performance. However, I may not be as strong as some guys who train with me, so I may not perform as well in some big movements like dyno.

Have you encountered any challenges as a female player? How did you overcome them?

Sometimes I feel embarrassed when I train with guys because they climb better than I do, but I keep training and striving to get stronger to surpass some guys. Even though there are still people who are better than me, I don't stress too much about it now because I know that we differ physically.

How did you build up your confidence over time?

My friends and my coach are very supportive. They always encourage me to do my best and I enjoy the time I spend with them, which gives me many precious memories and motivates me to continue doing what I love to do.

From your perspective as a female athlete, have you discovered anything new about yourself during this process?

I have discovered a new and positive self through climbing. Whenever I feel stressed out in academics, I relax in a climbing gym and the sweat dispels my stress.

"I just want to say that don’t be afraid of not being the best. There are always people around you who are also talented and work hard. Just look back at your journey and see how far you've been through."

Annie Continues to Pursue What She Loves