To build up strength and agility, Aries Susanti Rahayu didn’t need a sophisticated gym; just her backpack and the trees surrounding her childhood home. Her talent wasn’t lost on a junior-school teacher, who encouraged her to take up the sport of speed climbing.

Rahayu started training while still in her teens, before embarking on competitive climbing and racking up an impressive cache of medals and trophies. For her first major outings in 2017, she won silver at the World Cup in Xiamen, China, and bronze at the Asian Championships in Tehran, Iran.

By 2018, Rahayu improved to rank second overall in speed climbing, following her three gold medals and a bronze from various competitions around China. But 2019 was a watershed moment when Rahayu became the first woman ever to climb a speed wall under 7 seconds.