to clinch the title of National Sport-Climbing Champion as well.

Shiraishi has been climbing stronger than ever this year. During her spring break from ninth grade, she traveled to Japan, where her family is from, and climbed a V15 boulder problem—setting a significant record for female climbers.

On Thursday, she arrived at the Stone Summit gym, where the USA Youth Nationals will be held, to practice on the walls. Poppo, who is also Shiraishi's coach, was belaying her when the accident occurred. According to a source who was present at the gym, Poppo made a mistake with his belay device, preventing it from locking down on the rope as it slipped through his hand.

Shiraishi dropped from the top of the indoor climbing wall, about 45 feet above a padded gymfloor, and struck the ground.

Two climbers on site happened to be paramedics, and they immobilized Shiraishi while an ambulance arrived. She was taken to a hospital and examined in the emergency room. She was released several hours later, and returned to her hotel room that night.

Accidents of this nature are, unfortunately, not unprecedented in the climbing world. In sport climbing, a type of climbing that relies on ropes, a belayer operates a belay device, which is a piece of equipment that uses friction to control a rope, while his or her partner climbs up the wall. Should the climber fall, the belayer “catches” the fall by correctly operating the belay device. No belay device is entirely foolproof, however, and user error has accounted for many serious accidents over