Mao Nakamura ( ; ; born March 2, 2000) is a Japanese professional rock climber. She competes in international competition climbing, including the IFSC Climbing World Cup, Asian Championships, and youth-level IFSC events. Representing Japan, Nakamura specializes in bouldering and lead climbing, and is a member of the Japanese national climbing team. She rose to international attention with strong performances on the World Cup circuit, notably placing 1st in bouldering at the 2025 IFSC World Cup in Salt Lake City, her career-best senior result to date. Nakamura has also earned podiums in youth competitions, including multiple gold medals at the Asian Youth Championships and finalist placements at the IFSC Youth World Championships.
Early life and education Mao Nakamura was born on March 2, 2000, in Japan. She first became interested in climbing in elementary school—after joining a family outing that led her to a bouldering gym in 6th grade, she quickly fell in love with the sport and began training intensively. She experimented with ballet, tennis, and piano, but by middle school, climbing had become her clear passion. Describing herself as highly competitive, she began winning domestic youth competitions by high school and was selected to Japan’s national training programs.
Nakamura attended Aoyama Gakuin University, majoring in Cultural Policy. While excelling academically, she maintained a rigorous training schedule—climbing five days a week (about 4–5 hours per session), complemented by morning runs and weekly fitness sessions—and expressed a strong desire to support future generations through climbing outreach.
Climbing career Mao Nakamura made her first international appearance at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, finishing sixth in the girls’ combined event. She went on to earn three silver medals in Lead, Speed, and Boulder at the 2019 Asian Youth Championships in Bengaluru, and was a finalist across multiple disciplines—Lead (12th), Combined (8th), Boulder (24th), and Speed (18th)—at the IFSC Youth World Championships in Arco, Italy that same year. In 2021, she entered the senior IFSC World Cup circuit full-time, posting strong Boulder results in Salt Lake City (10th) and Innsbruck (10th), and ultimately finishing 10th overall in the 2021 Boulder World Cup standings.
Nakamura continued to build momentum in 2022, achieving a Bronze in Boulder at the World Games in Birmingham and a Silver at the FISU University Championships in Innsbruck. Her 2024 season saw consistent top-10 finishes in Boulder—including 6th in Salt Lake City and Prague, 4th in Innsbruck and at the NEOM Masters, 10th in Seoul, and 4th at the IFSC Asian Championships in Tai’an. In 2025, Nakamura earned her first senior World Cup gold, becoming the only finalist to top three boulders in Salt Lake City and securing the victory ahead of Zélia Avezou and Annie Sanders. She also reached finals in Curitiba and Keqiao, placing fourth in each
2021 World Cup season In 2021, she debuted on the senior IFSC circuit, making two Boulder World Cup appearances in Salt Lake City (placing 14th in the first event and 10th in the second) and Innsbruck (10th), and finished 10th overall in the 2021 Boulder World Cup standings—ranking among Japan’s top scorers that season.
2022 World Cup season The year 2022 marked Nakamura’s expansion into multi-discipline competition. She captured bronze in Boulder at the World Games in Birmingham and silver at the FISU University Championships in Innsbruck.
2024 World Cup season In 2024, Nakamura secured multiple World Cup top‑10 finishes, including 6th in Boulder at Salt Lake City and Prague, 4th in Innsbruck, and 10th in Seoul. She also placed 4th in Boulder at the IFSC Asian Championships in Tai’an and at the NEOM IFSC Masters event.
2025 World Cup season Nakamura’s breakthrough came in 2025 when she won her first senior IFSC World Cup Boulder event in Salt Lake City—the only climber to top three finals boulders—earning gold ahead of Zélia Avezou and Annie Sanders. She also reached finals in Curitiba and Keqiao, placing fourth in both events.
World Cup results Asian Youth Championship Titles Year Event Location Discipline Medal 2019 Asian Youth Championships – Bengaluru Bengaluru, India Lead Silver 🥈 2019 Asian Youth Championships – Bengaluru Bengaluru, India Speed Silver 🥈 2019 Asian Youth Championships – Bengaluru Bengaluru, India Bouldering Silver 🥈 2018 Asian Youth Championships – Chongqing Chongqing, China Bouldering Gold 🥇 2017 Asian Youth Championships – Singapore Singapore Bouldering Gold 🥇 2015 Asian Youth Championships – Putrajaya Putrajaya, Malaysia Bouldering Gold 🥇
IFSC World Cup Podiums Year Event City Discipline Rank 2025 IFSC Climbing World Cup – Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, USA Bouldering 1st 🥇
Full IFSC World Cup Results Year Event City Date Discipline Rank 2025 IFSC World Cup Innsbruck, AUT 2025-06-25 Boulder 5 2025 IFSC World Cup Bern, SUI 2025-06-13 Boulder 5 2025 IFSC World Cup Prague, CZE 2025-06-06 Boulder 19 2025 IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City, USA 2025-05-24 Boulder 1 2025 IFSC World Cup Curitiba, BRA 2025-05-19 Boulder 4 2025 IFSC World Cup Keqiao, CHN 2025-04-20 Boulder 4 2024 NEOM IFSC Masters Neom 2024-11-13 Boulder 4 2024 IFSC Asian Championships Tai'an 2024-10-14 Boulder 4 2024 IFSC World Cup Seoul 2024-10-06 Lead 30 2024 IFSC World Cup Seoul 2024-10-06 Boulder 10 2024 IFSC World Cup Prague 2024-09-22 Boulder 6 2024 IFSC World Cup Briançon 2024-07-19 Lead 30 2024 IFSC World Cup Chamonix 2024-07-14 Lead 21 2024 IFSC World Cup Innsbruck 2024-06-30 Boulder 4 2024 IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City 2024-05-06 Boulder 6 2024 IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024-04-10 Boulder 11 2022 World Games Birmingham, USA 2022-07-17 Boulder 3 2022 FISU University Championships Innsbruck 2022-06-17 Boulder 2 2021 IFSC World Championships Moscow 2021-09-21 Boulder 14 2021 IFSC World Cup Innsbruck 2021-06-26 Boulder 10 2021 IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City 2021-05-31 Boulder 14 2021 IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City 2021-05-23 Boulder 10 2019 IFSC World Cup Vail 2019-06-08 Boulder 6 2019 IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2019-05-05 Boulder 12 2019 IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2019-05-05 Speed 48 2019 IFSC World Cup Chongqing 2019-04-28 Boulder 16 2019 IFSC World Cup Chongqing 2019-04-28 Speed 50 2019 IFSC World Cup Moscow 2019-04-14 Boulder 23 2019 IFSC World Cup Moscow 2019-04-14 Speed 60 2019 IFSC World Cup Meiringen 2019-04-06 Boulder 51 2018 IFSC World Cup Munich 2018-08-18 Boulder 10 2018 IFSC World Cup Vail 2018-06-09 Boulder 13 2018 IFSC World Cup Hachioji 2018-06-03 Boulder 35 2018 IFSC World Cup Chongqing 2018-05-06 Boulder 20 2018 IFSC World Cup Chongqing 2018-05-06 Speed 36 2018 IFSC World Cup Moscow 2018-04-22 Boulder 31 2018 IFSC World Cup Meiringen 2018-04-14 Boulder 15 2017 IFSC World Cup Hachioji 2017-05-07 Boulder 43 2016 IFSC World Cup Kazo 2016-04-24 Boulder 33
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