Jain Kim

Kim Ja-in (, born 11 September 1988), more widely known in the Western world as Jain Kim, is a professional climber who specializes in competition climbing. She is mainly active in competition lead climbing and competition bouldering. She has won the Lead Climbing World Cup three times (2010, 2013, 2014), the Lead Climbing World Championship once (2014), and the Rock Master once (2010, Lead discipline). She has won the Asian Championships 14 times in 15 years, 11 times in lead climbing and 3 times in bouldering (see below for details).

Jain Kim has also completed notable ascents outdoors. In 2014, she redpointed her first routes graded beyond the grade, including Bibita Biologica  and Reini's Vibes, both in Arco, Italy.

Biography


Born into a family of mountaineers and climbers, Kim started climbing at age 12. In July 2004, at age 15, she started competing in the Lead Climbing World Cup and since 2006, she has also participated in the Bouldering World Cup.

She won the Lead Climbing Asian Championship in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2008, she also won the Bouldering Asian Championship. In 2009, she ranked second in the Lead Climbing World Cup, second in the Lead Climbing World Championship, second in the World Games (Lead), and third in the Rock Master (Lead).

In 2010, she won the lead climbing competitions both in the Rock Master and the World Cup. She obtained the World Cup overall title by ranking first in five of the six stages, namely those held in Xining, Chuncheon, Puurs, Huaiji, and Kranj. The only World Cup stage that Jain Kim did not win in 2010 was the first one, held in Chamonix. She won the Lead Climbing World Cup again in 2013 and 2014, each time winning four of the eight events.

In May and June 2014, she redpointed her first routes in rock climbing graded 8b+, namely Bibita Biologica (8c) and Reini's Vibes (8c/8c+), both in Arco, Italy.

On September 14, 2014, three days after she had turned 26, she achieved an extraordinary victory at the Lead Climbing World Championships, where she managed to ascend (on-sight) all of the routes attempted in the qualifications, the semifinals, and the finals.

On May 20, 2017, she climbed the 555-meter Lotte World Tower in Seoul.

Upon winning the gold Lead World Cup in Chamonix on July 9, 2023, Kim became the oldest woman to win a Lead World Cup at 34 years old.

Personal life
She is married to Oh Young-hwan, a member of the 21st National Assembly of Korea, who was a firefighter of Seoul Fire Services and writer. On March 10, 2021, Kim gave birth to a daughter.

Climbing World Championships
Youth

Adult

Lead
Last updated July 9, 2023.