Rei Sugimoto won his first title in five years at the IFSC World Cup bouldering competition on Saturday, as four of the top six places went to Japanese climbers in the men's event held in Vail, Colorado.
In the penultimate event of the seven-stage bouldering World Cup season, Sugimoto was the only climber out of the six finalists who flashed (completed the route on the first attempt) all three problems.
Tomoa Narasaki, the overall bouldering World Cup champion in 2016, took third behind American Sean Bailey, while Ryuichi Murai was fifth and Tomoaki Takata sixth.
In the women's event, Miho Nonaka finished second behind Alex Puccio of the United States. Akiyo Noguchi, who was looking to win her fourth consecutive bouldering World Cup, placed third.