LAUSANNE, April 23, 2021 – It was through climbing adventures that Ari Schneider discovered his passion for writing during his undergraduate studies. And both abilities combined to bring him victory in the Young Reporters Writing category of the AIPS Sport Media Awards 2020. 

The 26-year-old American explored the theme of friendship in his award-winning The New York Times article: “Two Climbers. Best Friends. Only One Ticket to the Olympics”. The story of two Slovene teen climbers, Mia Krampl and Lucka Rakovec, who were faced with balancing friendship and competition through the cutthroat Olympic qualification process.  

In this interview, the freelance journalist revealed that following the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics last year, the piece almost never saw the light of day.

What was your first reaction after being announced winner of the Young Reporters Writing category?

I was super excited, and I really didn't expect that because, Danielle and Fiona, the other finalists, do incredible work and I love their stories as well. I really would have egged either of them to win. It's really just an honour. I really appreciate the judges for recognizing my work. 

Tell us about some of the congratulatory messages you received? 

I received a tremendous amount of support. I studied journalism at New York University (NYU), and it was great to have a lot of my professors reach out and say congrats, and my parents, and I had some cousins as well watching the ceremony live. My mum tried calling me before the ceremony was even over. They were all very excited.
 

The article itself, what are some of the things that people have said about it?
When I wrote that piece, even though it is a sports story, I really wanted it to be a piece that anybody would be interested in reading, even if they don't like sports or don't usually watch sports, especially climbing being a little bit more niche. I wanted it to be a story about friendship. So, hearing feedback from a lot of people, it sounds like a lot of the readers who didn’t even know that climbing was going to be an Olympic sport, read it, and kind of got a taste for what the sport is like, but most importantly, read it as a story of friendship.

 How did the idea for your award-winning story come about?
I heard about the characters, Mia and Lucka during one of the Olympic qualifiers last year and I heard that they were incredibly close friends and there was only one spot left for a Slovenian climber to go to the Olympics. When Mia ended up pulling out in front, and taking the spot, I heard that she started crying because she was upset that she had taken the spot away from her best friend, less so, because she was excited that she got a ticket to the Olympics. For me it just indicated that they really care about each other, and I figured there's probably a good story there. So, I reached out to the two of them for an interview and they were really lovely to talk to.  

What did it take to execute your story idea? 
I started working on it in December of 2019. That was when I first reached out to Mia and Lucka. I brought that story to an editor at The New York Times, and we started working on it then. I never actually got to travel to Slovenia for it, but I did a bunch of phone calls back and forth with Mia and Lucka to try to understand the friendship, like what are some things they like to do together and how they train together. I had a draft, pretty much ready in early February, but then the pandemic really kicked off and it seemed like with the Olympics being postponed, that the story might not go anywhere. At that point I was assuming the story was done.  

So how did you deal with the plot twist? 

I reached back out to Mia and Lucka to see what they were up to during the pandemic, and it turned out they were actually thousands of miles apart – Lucka was at home in Slovenia and Mia was at a training camp in Tokyo when the world basically shut down. But then that added another wrinkle in that friendship that I think made the story even more interesting. So, I was able to keep working on it and it was published in May of 2020.  

Have you spoken to the Slovenian climbers Mia and Lucka after your award? 

I did. Right after I found out I had won, I sent them both an email and congratulated them and thanked them for letting me write a profile of them. They are back in Slovenia together right now. I think they're both training with the Slovenian National Team, which is fantastic group of climbers. Slovenia is a powerhouse in the competitive climbing world; they have a bunch of really talented people.
 

What impact did the story have on you personally?
Personally, the story was very meaningful. It was the first story I've done for The New York Times, and it was really just a privilege to have the opportunity to do it, and the story is a year old now but still people reach out to me all the time saying they read it, and they liked it. But I think it was just really a stepping stone in my journey as a journalist.
 

What are your expectations for climbing at the Tokyo Olympics? 

I'm really excited for it, and I've done a couple other climbing stories, since that The New York Times piece, looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics. I think it's going to really be so good for the sport when it makes its debut. I think it's going to catch a lot of eyes. it's a very exciting sport to watch. I'm a climber myself, I quite enjoy it and I just like to see other people getting into it and getting excited about it.
 

Tell us more about you being a climber. 

I've been a climber since I was a kid. When I was younger, I don't think I loved it that much but when I was studying at university, that's when I really fell in love with the sport. For me I love to use it as a mode of travel – going on climbing trips. And that's how I started my journalism career - writing about a lot of my climbing adventures. Then I went to graduate school to pursue a broader range of journalistic interests, but climbing was really the kicking off point for my writing, so I have a bit of an attachment to the sport. 

Can you tell us a bit more about the start of your writing journey and how has it been so far?
When I was in the university, I started a blog with one of my peers and that was where things really started. We were just writing about hiking, climbing and other outdoor sports adventures. After I graduated university, I took a couple years to explore some career options and ended up just coming back to writing because I missed it so much. My first degree was a bachelor's in political science, and then I got a master's degree in journalism. I write a lot of athlete profiles, and then I also write reported narratives about political, social issues, technology, gender issues and all sorts of topics.
 

Who do you look up to in the profession and why? 

I really admire a lot of professors I had when I was studying for my journalism masters, especially those that write incredible long form. And at The New York Times that was what inspired a lot of my sports writing, because they do such a good job of finding sports stories that are less about the sport and more about the people that are part of the sport – like human interest stories. John Branch does an excellent job with that and when I was studying for my masters, I was able to talk to him on the phone a little bit and get some advice from him and that was super influential.  

What do you hope to achieve in sports journalism in the near future, or let's say by the time you turn 30?
Well, I’ve got four years until I turn 30 and, in that time, I just really want to keep pushing my writing and find more opportunities like this one and find more incredible stories that I can bring to great publications. I love what I do, I really love my job so just more of it.

To view all winners of the AIPS Sport Media Awards’ third edition, please click here.