Tokyo Olympian Tomoa Narasaki overcame fatigue and brisk temperatures to head a Japanese men's podium sweep at the season-ending Boulder & Lead World Cup in Morioka on Friday.
Climbing last in the lead round, Narasaki totaled 156.4 to finish ahead of back-to-back overall World Cup bouldering champion Yoshiyuki Ogata on 138.4 and Kokoro Fujii with 132.6 at Iwate Prefectural Sports Park Climbing Stadium.
The 26-year-old Narasaki was second on 84.3 points after the boulder round of the men's final, trailing France's Paul Jenft by 0.4. With Ogata and Fujii having guaranteed a 1-2 result for Japan with their lead climbs, Narasaki registered 72.1 to complete the host-nation trifecta.
"I felt this was going to be a very tough round, but I'm very happy to win this inaugural competition," said Narasaki, who top-scored with 141.9 in the semifinal earlier in the day.
"To be honest, when I woke up this morning, I felt incredibly tired and did not want to do two rounds in a day. But in the end, I was able to concentrate and do my best."
The World Cup in Morioka features the new dual-discipline format to be used at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Competitors at last summer's Tokyo Games contested a combined format comprising speed, boulder and lead climbing.
"Under the Tokyo Games format, there weren't so many climbers able to compete in all three disciplines," Narasaki said. "But with just two disciplines, the number of rivals has grown. I'll have to do my best."
The women's medals will be decided when the World Cup wraps up on Saturday, with 19-year-old Japanese climber Ai Mori in first place after the semifinals.
Related coverage:
Sport climbing: Mori, 18, bests Garnbret for 1st lead World Cup title
Sport climbing: Miho Nonaka golden as Japan rocks World Games bouldering
Sport climbing: Ogata crowned season champion, Japan dominates
