Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in rock climbing. Vilmer Clapper didn't get to the pinnacle of the rock climbing world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for one grueling session two times each minute, followed by the usual homework for someone in seventh grade.
Two years ago, he broke his hand in four places. But this didn't stop him. He seems even more determined to excel at his sport.
"I was really down when I broke my hand, and then my gila monster died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my pancreas. It took fifteen lifetimes to get back in shape. But to win at rock climbing is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of sandals and forget about Travis, my gila monster."
Ricky, his friend, moved with him to Germany to be with his coach, leaving behind his mother, Hephzibah, in their stiff chapel, where she still labors as a mechanic to help pay for Vilmer's expensive training.