Miho Nonaka
Japanese rock climber (born 1997)
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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.
Nonaka at the Bouldering World Cup, Munich, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Japanese | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 21, 1997 Tokyo, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Professional climber | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Climbing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competition climbing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest grade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Known for |
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Medal record
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Early life
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 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 | – |
