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Bet the farm on it! Japan’s Noguchi eyes Olympic climbing gold
TOKYO, June 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Japan’s Akiyo Noguchi began climbing as a tearaway tot clambering onto the backs of cows for kicks on the family farm — now she’s targeting Olympic gold.
The 29-year-old put down an early marker for the 2020 Tokyo Games, when sport climbing makes its Olympic debut, by capturing her third straight World Cup bouldering title last weekend.
But it could all have been so different for the world number one, whose decision to quit her university studies and become a professional climber provoked an angry reaction from her mother.
“It was 10 years ago and climbing wasn’t in the Olympics, it was still a minor sport,” Noguchi told AFP in an interview.
“When I told my parents I was dropping out of college to turn pro, they were extremely worried — and my mum was dead against it.
“But my dad has supported my climbing since I was a kid and built a wall for me in the corner of the farm,” added the adrenalin junkie, who has 21 World Cup bouldering titles to her name.
“He insisted I do what makes me happy. But my mum knows now how much I love climbing and has seen how much effort I put into competing so all the family is behind me now.”
Noguchi admits she was a handful for her parents with her tomboy antics growing up in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
“My dad was a farmer and we grew up surrounded by animals,” she said. “I loved climbing on the cows, climbing up trees, climbing onto the roof of the cow shed to play as a kid.
“When I was 11 we went on a family holiday to Guam and I tried a proper climbing wall for the first time.
“At the beginning I was still quite small so it was a challenge,” revealed Noguchi, who left it late to beat countrywoman Miho Nonaka in Tokyo at the weekend.
– ‘Just go for it’ –
“But I was determined to figure out a way up the wall. I loved overcoming obstacles, that sense of achievement — I was hooked.
MORE/AU/08:40 hrs
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“Obviously you need physical strength and power, but climbing is also about the thought process, ingenuity and really just going for it. Willing yourself to go higher — that’s part of the fun.”
The Olympic format will combine three types of climbing techniques: speed, lead and bouldering, with the highest cumulative score deciding the winner.
Speed emphasises a climber’s pace, while lead climbing involves the athlete clipping into hooks along the face of the wall with the help of a teammate belaying below.
Bouldering sees athletes clamber up smaller rocks and faces without a rope, a deceptively challenging form of climbing that can involve dramatic leaps and impressive feats of strength.
Noguchi is looking to improve her lead and speed climbing techniques, beginning at the world championships in Innsbruck this September, which will feature all three disciplines.
But she has few rivals in bouldering, where climbers have five minutes to scale as many fixed routes as possible without having seen the wall in advance.
“I’m sure there will be a great deal of pressure,” said Noguchi matter-of-factly when asked about the Tokyo Olympics.
“It’s a home Olympics so I imagine I’ll feel pressure. But I’m sure I’ll feel the support of everyone in Japan and I think it will work in my favour. I’ll be looking to win the gold medal of course.”
Japan could scoop multiple medals at the Olympics as the country boasts four of the world’s top 10 in men’s bouldering, led by former combined world champion Tomoa Narasaki and Rei Sugimoto.
Many in the crowd last weekend knew little about sport climbing but Noguchi could well change that at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I feel so lucky to have an Olympics taking place in Tokyo and for sport climbing to be included for the first time while I’m still competing,” she said.
“You don’t get many chances like that in life so I want to make it count.”
BSS/AFP/AU/08:45 hrs