Quick Facts
Gemini
Biography
Akiyo Noguchi (野口 啓代, Noguchi Akiyo, born May 30, 1989) is a Japanese professional rock climber, sport climber and boulderer. She participates in both bouldering and lead climbing competitions. She is known for winning the IFSC Climbing World Cup in Bouldering four times. In her home country, she won Bouldering Japan Cup nine times consecutively from 2005 to 2014, which no other Japanese athlete has been able to match.
Biography
Noguchi grew up on a cattle farm in the Ibaraki Prefecture. From a young age she would climb on buildings, trees and sometimes even on the cows. In 2000, when she was 11 years old, she would try a real climbing wall for the first time, during a holiday trip to Guam. Back at home she immediately joined a local climbing gym. Her father would later build her a climbing wall in an old cattle barn on the farm.
In 2007, she started competing in the Bouldering World Cups, reaching the podium three times. In 2009, she won the World Cup in bouldering, over the previous year's champion Anna Stöhr. Noguchi repeated as champion in 2010, 2014 and 2015. In the 2011, 2012 and 2013 bouldering events at the World Cup she placed second. She has also won the combined climbling title at the World Cup three times.
Noguchi was also awarded the La Sportiva Competition Award in 2010, "for her victories and the positive spirit she exudes during competitions".
Rankings
Climbing World Cup[5]
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 42 | 21 | 24 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 30 | 17 | 15 | 8 | 9 |
| Bouldering | - | - | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Combined | - | - | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
Climbing World Championships[7]
| 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 3 | 11 | 8 | - | - | 9 | - | 8 | 5 |
| Bouldering | 21 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Speed | - | - | 31 | - | - | - | - | 47 | 34 |
| Combined | - | - | 31 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 2 |
Number of medals in the Climbing World Cup
Lead[7]
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2011 | 0 | |||
| 2012 | 0 | |||
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2015 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Total | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
Bouldering[7]
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2009 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2010 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2011 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 2013 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| 2014 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 2015 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 4 | 7 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Total | 21 | 20 | 17 | 58 |
Rock climbing
Redpointed routes
8b (5.13d):
- Liquid Finger - Joyama (JPN) - December 12, 2008
8c+ (5.14c):
- Mind Control - Oliana (SPN) - December 10, 2013
Boulder problems
8A+ (V12)
- Aguni - Mizugaki (JPN) - November 2014.
- A Maze of Death - Bishop (CAL) - 2016.
8A (V11)
- Monsterman SD - Jyougasaki (JPN) - February 2010.
- Evilution Direct - Bishop (CAL) - 2016.
Media
Akiyo Noguchi is world renowned for her incredible technique and mobility. Udo Neumann, a German climbing coach, published a video of some of her best performances throughout her career, analyzing the qualities that have allowed her to excel in climbing. This video, entitled "Factors Deciding Bouldering Comps - the Art of Akiyo Noguchi," emphasizes her adaptability, which enables her to come up with unique solutions to the problems she encounters. Furthermore, her mobility allows her to do moves that elude her fellow competitors. She has also gained fame on social medias, such as Instagram, where she has over 100 thousand followers.
