Japanese Climber Secures First IFSC Boulder World Cup Gold in Salt Lake City

Originally posted on Outdoors on SI | By Maria Aldrich | Last updated May 25, 2025 3:15 PM ET

Things heated up quickly at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah. Boulder athletes from around the globe came together for the opportunity to win a gold medal, but only one climber was destined for victory at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup.

During the semifinals, Japan's 25-year-old Mao Nakamura landed a perfect score of 100.00 alongside Zélia Avezou of France. With both athletes achieving perfect scores, and American Annie Sanders posting a 99.7, it was evident that the competition would be tight heading into the finals.

Nakamura has come relatively close to victory in the past, but her performances weren't enough to earn a medal. However, she entered Salt Lake City with one goal in mind—to reach the podium.
After an impressive finals competition, Nakamura not only made a podium appearance, but she was also awarded the gold medal that she had been chasing after. Having landed a score of 84.7, she was overcome with emotion as this was her first World Cup gold.

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"I can't believe it. I've had many fourth places, and I can't believe I have a medal," she told the IFSC. "So many people were cheering for me, so I just tried to podium for them. I was just so excited. Thank you everyone."

Standing on the podium with Nakamura was Avezou who earned silver with a score of 70.0 and Sanders with bronze for a score of 70.0. France's Oriane Bertone was shooting for first place after finishing in second time and time again. Unfortunately, a victory in Salt Lake City was not in the cards for her this year—she finished in fourth place.

The World Cup events in Utah are scheduled to conclude with the men's semifinals and finals on Sunday. Each competition will be available for viewing on the official IFSC YouTube channel.

This article first appeared on Outdoors on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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