40 | July/August 2017
A
F E A T U R E
Climbing Higher
BY NATHAN WALLS
YOU COULD SAY THAT KAI LIGHTNER
IS SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD.
At six years old, he was able to climb a 50-foot flagpole.
At 14, he was a world champion rock climber. At 17
years old and with a GPA of 4.85, he's the first black male
valedictorian in the history of Reid Ross Classical School.
How did he get so far up? He climbed there. He worked.
It's not that surprising.
When Kai was four years old, he climbed from his aunt's
third-floor balcony to her neighbor's fourth-floor balcony. "I
was very active and willing to climb everything," Kai said.
"I did it until I got caught."
is determination—which Kai has always had—was the
main ingredient for his success. But along the way he's also
had the support of his mother and a few instructive coaches.
"We live in an area with no mountains, no highly
competitive climbing teams or coaches and when Kai
started climbing at six, North Carolina had very few former
national champion climbers," said Constance Lightner,
Kai's mother.
"e U.S. only had one previous World Champion, in
1995. When Kai decided he wanted to accomplish both
at an early age, he was advised that the deck was stacked
against him and it would be an uphill battle."
Photo
courtesy
Ted
Distel
