Rei Sugimoto

Rei Sugimoto is a Japanese professional rock climber, specializing in competition climbing.

Climbing career

Sugimoto started competing on the IFSC Climbing World Cup circuit in 2009.
In 2011, Sugimoto reached his first bouldering final at the Vail World Cup, placing fourth.
In 2012, Sugimoto was a finalist in three of the six Bouldering World Cups. He rounded out the 2012 season by finishing sixth at the World Championships in Paris.
In 2013, Sugimoto won his first Bouldering World Cup in Munich.
In 2015, Sugimoto won the silver medal in the bouldering discipline at the Asian Championships held in Ningbo.
In 2017, he won the silver medal at the bouldering World Cup in Navi Mumbai.
In 2018, he won the bronze medal at the bouldering World Cup in Hachioji and won his second career World Cup gold medal later in Vail. He won the silver medal in the combined event at the 2018 Asian Championships held in Kurayoshi.
In 2019, Sugimoto won the bronze medal at the Bouldering World Cup in Meiringen. In 2021, he did not advance to the finals at the Bouldering World Cups. In 2023, he competed at the Hachioji Bouldering World Cup but did not advance past the qualification round.
In 2025, Sugimoto placed third in his final Boulder Japan Cup, successfully returning to Japan's national team after 2 years. He reached the finals at the 2025 Salt Lake City World Cup, placing eighth in the final World Cup event of his career.