Olympics Apr 18, 2020
Olympic delay sends world champ Tomoa Narasaki back to drawing board
Tomoa Narasaki was expected to be among the favorites at the Olympics this summer
More Sports Mar 6, 2020
Organizers manage to hold sport climbing test event without athletes
by Jason Coskrey
The Ready Steady Tokyo sport climbing event had a wall, music, PA announcers and even a famous spectator. What it didn't have was athletes. The sport climbing test event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics went ahead as planned on Friday at Aomi Urban Sports Park, near ...
More Sports Oct 15, 2019
Miho Nonaka, Kai Harada claim bouldering golds at inaugural World Beach Games
Climbers Miho Nonaka and Kai Harada gave Japan two bouldering golds Monday at the inaugural World Beach Games, an international beach multisport event organized by the Association of National Olympic Committees. Keita Watabe, meanwhile, finished behind Harada for the men's silver, raising the medal hopes ...
More Sports Aug 21, 2019
Tomoa Narasaki climbs to gold at world championships, punches ticket for 2020 Olympics
by Kaz Nagatsuka
Tomoa Narasaki entered the world championships vowing to not only shoot for an Olympic berth but for the gold medal as well. In the end, he proved to be a man of his word. Narasaki captured his first men's combined event gold medal at the IFSC ...
More Sports Aug 16, 2019
Teenage climber Ai Mori earns bronze in women's lead competition at world championships
Fifteen-year-old Ai Mori became the youngest Japanese to finish on the podium at the IFSC Climbing World Championships after taking bronze in the women's lead competition. Mori, who is making her senior debut this season, finished behind Slovenia's Janja Garnbret and Mia Krampl in ...
More Sports Aug 10, 2019
Top climbers seeking to use world championships in Hachioji as springboard to 2020 Games
by Kaz Nagatsuka
Japanese climbers are fired up to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics during the IFSC Climbing World Championships, which kicks off on home soil on Sunday. The event will be held at Esforta Arena Hachioji, which is located on the outskirts of the Japanese capital, ...
More Sports Jun 9, 2019
Tomoa Narasaki earns second overall World Cup bouldering title
Tomoa Narasaki finished runner-up at the final bouldering World Cup event of the season on Saturday to earn his second overall title in three years. Narasaki, the 2016 overall and world champion, placed second behind compatriot Yoshiyuki Ogata in the final in Vail, Colorado. Ogata ...
More Sports Nov 10, 2018
Sixteen-year-old Futaba Ito won the women's bouldering final at the Asian sport climbing championships on Friday, finishing ahead of compatriot Nanako Kura. While the two climbers each completed three problems and four zones at Kurayoshi Sports and Cultural Hall, Ito clinched gold thanks to fewer ...
More Sports Sep 15, 2018
Sport climbers Akiyo Noguchi, Miho Nonaka place second, fifth at world championships
Asian Games gold medalist Akiyo Noguchi finished second Friday in the women's bouldering final at the IFSC Climbing World Championships. The 29-year-old completed two of the four boulders to finish behind Janja Garnbret of Slovenia in the six-woman final at OlympiaWorld Innsbruck. Serbia's Stasa Gejo ...
More Sports Aug 25, 2018
Tomoa Narasaki topped the qualifications of sport climbing combined at the Asian Games for the second straight day on Saturday, as all Japanese climbers qualified for the following day's final. Narasaki and Kokoro Fujii will gun for a medal in the men's event, while Akiyo ...
More Sports Aug 24, 2018
Tomoa Narasaki pulled off a nearly flawless showing Friday in bouldering qualification for sport climbing's men's combined event at the Asian Games. The 2016 overall world champion Narasaki topped the 23-man qualifier by completing four problems on seven attempts at Jakabaring Sport Center. In doing so, ...
More Sports Jul 5, 2018
Going up not only challenge for competitors in climbing
by Kaz Nagatsuka
After capturing the women's title at the inaugural Combined Japan Cup on June 24, Akiyo Noguchi insisted she needed to sleep a lot to restore her energy following a grueling qualification round the previous day. "I slept a lot," the 29-year-old Noguchi admitted with a ...