Climbing stars Akiyo Noguchi and Tomoa Narasaki captured the women's and men's titles at the inaugural Combined Japan Cup at Iwate Prefectural Sports Park on Sunday.
Narasaki won two of the three disciplines, edging his younger brother Meichi Narasaki, to win the men's competition, while veteran Noguchi was consistent in finishing in the top three in each discipline to claim the women's title.
With sport climbing making its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games, the Japan Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Association staged the Combined Japan Cup for the first time, with athletes looking to accumulate points over the three disciplines of speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.