She had to outclimb a competitor who had regularly beaten her in previous international competitions to secure the win.

"Winning the gold was a big moment. It was rewarding to see my progress,” said Benvenuti. “It's something to celebrate, look back on, and see how far I've come. But I also realize it's possible to keep going and pushing."

The victory secured her a place on the U.S. National Team.

Benvenuti started para climbing four years ago when a friend introduced her to the sport. She trained for a year and a half before she began competing.

Her first win was a bronze medal at the Salt Lake City World Cup in 2023, marking her debut in international competition.

Benvenuti said that one of the things she enjoys about the sport is its community aspect. "Everyone understands each other in a way that might not happen outside of this specific sport."

By day, the 2018 graduate collaborates with a team to develop an artificial intelligence-based chat product for a tech company. Benvenuti, who majored in mathematical economics and Latin American, Latino & Iberian Studies at UR, went on to earn a master’s degree in Spanish linguistics from U.C.L.A. She said the research skills she developed at UR, combined with her math background, help her in her career as a natural language processing engineer.

"The technical background and the research skills, those are the main things I use in my career," said Benvenuti, who was a research assistant creating language instruction resources for Elizabeth Kissling, a UR professor of Spanish and applied linguistics.

"Isabel’s work was pivotal to my project's success. And I’m proud of what we achieved together. I have been using those materials in my research ever since," Kissling said. “She was a fast learner who rose to every challenge."

She does the same when climbing. In competition, the climbers tackle a series of walls that get progressively more difficult. The holds get smaller and smoother and can be spaced farther apart, so the moves get more challenging. The winner is the athlete who makes it the farthest up the route.

Going for the gold

In the final round of her championship win, the competitors were kept isolated all day, preventing them from seeing the wall they would climb. Benvenuti had only six minutes to inspect the climb before her one attempt.

Benvenuti stayed active with running and lifting weights, but outside of childhood soccer matches, her participation in this sport was her first experience in organized competition. She said a desire for continued progress is what drives her.

"Whatever she puts her mind to, she accomplishes with excellence and ease," Kissling wrote when she penned a letter of recommendation for Benvenuti.

And what's on her mind now is the sport's biggest stage. Last year, the International Paralympic Committee announced that para climbing would be added for the first time to the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

"There's a lot of work I need to do to get there," Benvenuti said. "But winning this year at nationals showed me it's possible to get where I want to go. I want to compete in Los Angeles, and I want to win."