Intimate portrait of Japanese Olympian Miho Nonaka

"Just You Wait" is a tribute to Olympic athlete Miho Nonaka. Accompany the Japanese climbing icon from her early beginnings to the tough preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris.

Miho Nonaka, one of the best competitive climbers in the world, is determined to take part in the Olympic Games 2024. The Japanese-born athlete is very familiar with competitive climbing at world-class level: At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo Nonaka won the silver medal.

Starting places hotly contested

The fight for a place on the Japanese Olympic team in 2024 is tough. The Japanese Olympic climbing team has only 4 spots (two per gender). Ai Mori, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Japanese Olympic team in 2020, has at the World Championships in Bern already qualified for Paris.

The second Olympic ticket for the Japanese women's team is a nearly even match between Miho and Futaba Ito, both climbing phenomena in their own right. Miho currently leads the Olympic Qualifier Series by two points (38 compared to Futaba's 36).

Last chance

The Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest June 20-23 is the last opportunity to secure a place for the Olympic Games in Paris – not only for Miho, but also for 159 other Olympic candidates.

That might interest you

+ + +

Credits: Cover picture Jess Glassberg | Terrex

Season finale: Last Lead & Speed ​​World Cup in Santiago de Chile

This weekend in Santiago, Chile, climbers will compete for medals – and the overall ranking – for the last time this World Cup season. It is only the second World Cup event to be held in South America.

Why Adam Ondra downgrades “Exodia” from 9A+ to 9A

Adam Ondra has achieved the first repeat of Elias Iagnemma's "Exodia" (9A+) in Val Pellice, Italy. The exceptional Czech climber considers the grade 9A more appropriate – likely also because he only needed four days for the route, compared to 212 days for the first ascensionists.

When mountaineering loses its foundation

Crumbling rock, closed paths: Read here from mountain guide Christof Schellhammer how climate change is changing mountaineering.

News

Season finale: Last Lead & Speed ​​World Cup in Santiago de Chile

This weekend in Santiago, Chile, climbers will compete for medals – and the overall ranking – for the last time this World Cup season. It is only the second World Cup event to be held in South America.

Why Adam Ondra downgrades “Exodia” from 9A+ to 9A

Adam Ondra has achieved the first repeat of Elias Iagnemma's "Exodia" (9A+) in Val Pellice, Italy. The exceptional Czech climber considers the grade 9A more appropriate – likely also because he only needed four days for the route, compared to 212 days for the first ascensionists.

When mountaineering loses its foundation

Crumbling rock, closed paths: Read here from mountain guide Christof Schellhammer how climate change is changing mountaineering.

Lara Neumeier becomes the first woman to climb “Rhapsody” (8c+, E11 Trad)

Renowned big-wall climber Lara Neumeier became the first woman to complete "Rhapsody" (E11 7a, 8c+) at Dumbarton Rock in Scotland on October 7th. Dave MacLeod's route, established in 2006, was the world's first E11 and is still considered a test piece in trad climbing 20 years later.