Miho Nonaka

Miho Nonaka
Nonaka at the Bouldering World Cup, Munich, 2015
Personal information
NationalityJapanese
Born (1997-05-21) May 21, 1997
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationProfessional climber
Height163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Climbing career
Competition climbing
Highest grade
Known for
  • Winner of overall Boulder World Cup title in 2018
  • 2020 Olympic silver medalist
Medal record
Women's competition climbing
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2020 TokyoCombined
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2016 ParisBouldering
World Cup
First place2023 SeoulBouldering
First place2018 MeiringenBouldering
First place2016 MunichBouldering
First place2016 Navi MumbaiBouldering
Second place2022 InnsbruckBouldering
Second place2018 MunichBouldering
Second place2018 VailBouldering
Second place2018 HachiojiBouldering
Second place2017 Navi MumbaiBouldering
Second place2016 ParisBouldering
Third place2025 BernBouldering
Third place2023 InnsbruckBouldering
Third place2022 Salt Lake CityBouldering
Third place2021 Salt Lake CitySpeed
Third place2017 VailBouldering
Third place2017 TokyoBouldering
Third place2017 MeiringenBouldering
Third place2016 InnsbruckBouldering
Third place2016 KazoBouldering
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place2014 LombokBouldering
Gold medal – first place2015 NingboBouldering
Silver medal – second place2018 KurayoshiCombined
Silver medal – second place2024 Tai'anBouldering

Miho Nonaka (野中 生萌, Nonaka Mihō; born May 21, 1997) is a Japanese competition climber who specializes in competition bouldering. She is an Olympic silver medalist in sport climbing.

Early life

Nonaka grew up in Tokyo, and was introduced to climbing by her father and older sister when she was eight years old.[1][2]

Climbing career

In 2013, Nonaka began competing on the international senior circuit at IFSC Climbing World Cups at age 16, initially focusing on competition lead climbing.

In 2014, Nonaka transitioned towards competition bouldering, winning her first World Cup medal with a second-place finish at the Boulder World Cup in Laval and eventually finishing the World Cup season in fifth place in the overall ranking for bouldering.[3]

Nonaka at the Bouldering World Cup, Munich, 2015

Nonaka continued to move up the overall rankings for bouldering in the following World Cup seasons, finishing in third place in 2015 and second place in 2016. She won her first World Cup gold medal at the Boulder World Cup in Navi Mumbai in 2016.[4]

In 2018, Nonaka won the overall title in the Boulder World Cup by earning a place on the podium at every World Cup that season, winning one gold medal and six silver medals.[5]

In 2019, Nonaka was deemed by the IFSC to have qualified to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo by finishing in fifth place in the combined event at the 2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships.[6] In December 2020, Nonaka's Olympic berth was confirmed after a dispute between the IFSC and the Japan Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Association was resolved in Nonaka's favor.[7][8][9][10]

In preparation to compete in the combined event at the 2020 Summer Olympics (postponed to 2021), Nonaka competed at bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing events during the 2021 IFSC Climbing World Cup season, making finals across all disciplines and winning a bronze medal at the Speed World Cup in Salt Lake City.[11] At the Olympics, Nonaka won a silver medal in the combined event.[12]

Nonaka followed up her Olympic medal with two straight second-place finishes in the overall rankings of the Boulder World Cup in 2022 and 2023.

In 2024, Nonaka placed second in the rankings of the combined bouldering and lead climbing event at the Olympic Qualifier Series, securing a spot for the combined event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[13] At the Olympics, she finished in ninth place in the semifinals of the combined event and did not move on to finals.[14]

Notable ascents

On September 15, 2021, Nonaka redpointed Mr. Hyde 8c+ (5.14c) in Céüse, France.[15]

Other activities

In 2025 Nonaka opened a climbing gym called Next Gen in Niiza, Saitama.[2]

Nonaka is an ambassador for SpoGomi a competitive litter-picking sport started in Japan.[2]

Rankings

Climbing World Cup

Discipline[16] 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Lead 42 55 – – 46 23 19 26 – 14 51 49
Bouldering – 5 3 2 4 1 15 5 2 2 21 7
Speed – – – – – 43 30 9 – – – –
Combined 5 – – 8 3 4 6 – –

Climbing World Championships

Youth[17]

Discipline 2015
Juniors		 2016
Juniors
Bouldering 2 4

Adult[17]

Discipline 2014 2016 2018 2019 2023 2025
Lead – – 16 26 8 –
Bouldering 15 2 5 5 24 9
Speed – – 25 25 – –
Combined – – 5 5 7 –

World Cup podiums

Bouldering

Season[17][18] Gold Silver Bronze Total
201411
201511
2016235
2017145
2018167
202111
2022123
2023112
2025 1 1
Total4101226

Speed

Season[17] Gold Silver Bronze Total
202111
Total11

References

  1. ↑ "Olympics 2020: Miho Nonaka". UK Climbing. 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Miho Nonaka talks about "The Future Shaped by SPOGOMI" from the perspective of an athlete living in harmony with nature". 25 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Magazine, Gripped (2014-06-29). "Bouldering World Cup: Laval and season wrap-up". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  4. ↑ "Bouldering World Cup 2016: first victories for Miho Nonaka and Kokoro Fujii in India". PlanetMountain.com. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  5. ↑ "Miho Nonaka and Jernej Kruder win Bouldering World Cup 2018". PlanetMountain.com.
  6. ↑ "Highs and Lows: 2019 Climbing World Championships". Climbing. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  7. ↑ "Japanese Athletes Confirmed for Olympics Following Dismissal of Appeals". Climbing. 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  8. ↑ "CAS rejects appeal against sport climbing qualification process for Tokyo 2020". www.insidethegames.biz. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  9. ↑ "Japanese Climbing Federation Loses Lawsuit Against IFSC". www.gymclimber.com. 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Court of Arbitration for Sport (10 December 2020). "Arbitral Award for cases CAS 2019/A/6557 and CAS 2019/A/6663, JMSCA v. IFSC" (PDF). ifsc-climbing.org. Archived from the original on 2024-03-25. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Walker, Noah (2021-05-29). "New Speed World Record at Salt Lake City World Cup". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  12. ↑ ifsc-forge-converter-client (2021-08-06). "Official website of the International Federation of Sport Climbing". www.ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  13. ↑ "24 Combined athletes qualify in Budapest for Paris 2024 Olympic Games". PlanetMountain.com. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  14. ↑ "Olympics: Japanese climbing star Nonaka misses final, Mori advances". Kyodo News. 8 August 2024.
  15. ↑ "Miho Nonaka climbs Mr Hyde 8c+ at Céüse". September 16, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  16. ↑ IFSC, ed. (August 20, 2019). "World Cup Rankings". Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  17. 1 2 3 4 IFSC, ed. (May 30, 2022). "Nonaka's profile and rankings". Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Official website of the International Federation of Sport Climbing". www.ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
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