Being incredibly successful in competitions is not unknown to Japanese athletes. It is no secret that Japan has a very active trickline community. Japanese contests are very diverse and include several categories; male, female, youth and seniors, which is not usual for competitions around the world.
Japanese athletes are driven by passion and dedication, and they all aspire to show to the world their skills and spread their love of the sport.
Meet our highest ranking Japanese athletes at the end of 2019 in the trickline discipline:
Author: Lynn Koury
Akari Sasaki
Following the footsteps of her parents, Akari Sasaki started slacklining at the age of six. At 14. She is now the highest ranked female Trickline athlete in the ISA slackline world ranking list.
She practices two to three times a week, going out of her way to find a space to practice due to the lack of gyms in her area. While she doesn’t follow any strict diet, Akari practices all year long with the help of her parents and friends.
Her love and skills for slacklining have achieved wide recognition. Since 2014, Akari has competed and won many slacklining awards. Her goal is to show the world her skills and spread her love for the sport.
Top Awards:
- Gibbon Nippon Open 2019, Japan – 1st place
- Ninja Games 2019, Japan – 1st place
- Gibbon Cup 2018/19, Japan several 2nd and 3rd ranks
Find Akari on:
Akari’s ISA Profile:
Mao Fuchigami
Mao Fuchigami is a 27 years old athlete from Japan, specialising in Trickline Aerial. She is the second ranked athlete in the ISA slackline world ranking list list for this discipline together with Ayumi.
Mao takes her training seriously; she practices four to five times a week at the Slackline Park Gambader in Nagoya, an indoor bouldering and slacklining facility. She discovered slacklining 7 years ago at the bouldering gym. She found this experience very unique and challenging and started practicing ever since. She finds joy and fulfillment in landing a trick that once seemed unattainable.
Her goal is to one day be the world slackline champion. She is determined to create her own style and pushes herself to be the first woman to try new tricks.
Top Awards:
- SLACKLINE FREESTYLERS in FIELDSTYLE 2018 – Women’s 1st place
- Gibbon Cup 2019 Series #2 Game (female) – 2nd place
- Gibbon Cup 2019 Series #1 Game (female) – 3rd place
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Find Mao on:
Mao’s ISA Profile:
Ayumi Okada
Growing up, she wanted to be a nail artist. At 11 years old, she discovered slacklining and nine years later it’s essentially became her life. Ayumi is ranked second in the ISA slackline world ranking list in the trickline aerial discipline together with Mao.
Ayumi doesn’t follow a restricted diet or change her habits, but it is her love for slacklining that drives her. She practices two to three times a week for at least two hours. She also practices in winter to train for the summer competitions. Her goal is to spread her love of the sport to the younger generations and boost the popularity of slacklining.
Top Awards:
- Gibbon Nippon Open 2018 (Female) – 1st place
- Gibbon Cup 2018 Series #3 Game (Female) – 1st place
Find Ayumi on:
Ayumi’s ISA Profile:
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Mio Sudo
At only 20 years old, Mio Sudo ranked 3rd in the trickline aerial discipline. Ten years ago, she discovered slacklining at her local climbing gym and then got into tricklining after meeting Yoshinobu Azuma.
Mio works hard to get to this level. She practices two to three times per week, often at NEXUS. She also follows a healthy food diet to stay in shape.
Mio has been competing since 2016. She ranked first in over seven contests, including the Globetrotter World Slackline Masters in 2016 and the ISI Women’s World Ranking in 2017. Her dream is to land as many tricks as possible while bringing originality to the sport.
Top Awards:
- GLOBETROTTER WORLD SLACKLINE MASTERS 2016 – 1st place
- ISI Women’s World Ranking 2017 – 1st place
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Find Mio on:
Mio’s ISA Profile:
Haruki Kinoshita
At nearly 20 years old, Haruki is determined to bring slacklining to the olympics! Six years ago, someone told him there was a slackline at a temple in his hometown; he got curious and went to try. The difficulty of the sport and the frustration that comes with it pushed him to get better and he got hooked.
Haruki trains regularly; he found an indoor spot he can practice at around three times a week. He doesn’t have a coach or a trainer, just his determination.
When he was young, Haruki dreamed of playing baseball professionally. His goal today is to be a great slackliner and spread his love for this sport. He dreams of the day slacklining will be a popular sport, as common as baseball or soccer.
Top Awards:
- World Slackline Masters, Germany 2016 – 1st place
- Natural Games, Slacklining, France 2016 – 1st place
- X Games Slacklining Texas 2016 – 1st place
- Gopro Mountain Games 2017, USA – 1st place
- Riverrock 2018, USA – 1st place
- Outdoor Mix Festival, France 2019 – 2nd place
- Natural Games 2019, France – 2nd place
- Slackline 【FULLCOMBO】 World Cup 2019, Japan – 1st place
- Gibbon Nippon Open, Japan – multiple 1st places
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Find Haruki on:
Haruki’s ISA Profile: