Teenage sport climbing sensation Sorato Anraku booked his ticket to the 2024 Paris Games by dominating the combined boulder and lead final Saturday at the Asian Olympic qualifying competition in Jakarta.
The 16-year-old Asian Games combined champion topped all of his climbs in both the boulder and lead on his way to claiming Japan's second and final men's berth in Paris. Tokyo Olympian Tomoa Narasaki had already secured his spot via a third-place finish at the world championships in August.
Anraku was almost perfect in the boulder round, scoring 99.7 points with four tops, before conquering the lead route to finish with a 199.7 total. China's Pan Yufei was next best with 164.9, while South Korea's Lee Do Hyun totaled 132.5 for third.
Speaking after the win, Anraku was unequivocal about his goal for next summer.
"I want to win the gold medal at the Olympics," he said.
In the women's competition, Tokyo Games silver medalist Miho Nonaka finished second to China's Zhang Yuetong and must continue her bid to reach Paris through the Olympic qualifying series in May and June.
Nonaka led after the boulder round with a score of 64.9, but could only manage fourth place in the lead, finishing 1.4 back of Zhang with a 140.9 total. Japanese compatriot Futaba Ito was third with 135.8.
Related coverage:
Sport climbing: Tomoa Narasaki takes bronze at worlds, gets Olympic berth
Sport climbing: 19-year-old Mori wins worlds bronze, secures Paris spot
Sport climbing: Ai Mori wins Japan's first lead world championship
