The first-ever Asia-Pacific SkySnow Championships – the discipline of running on snow at altitude – took off in host country Japan on April 5-6, 2025 in Tsumagoi, a ski area in the North East of the country.
Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and Australia headed the country ranking, while the medal count had host country Japan secure no less than 13 medals, Mongolia four, South Korea two, and Australia one.
Star of the show, however, was Luvsansharav Natsagdorj from Mongolia who had gone into the events as a favourite and did not disappoint. He pocketed both gold medals in the VERTICAL and CLASSIC disciplines and another two for the Combined title and the country ranking.
“These SkySnow Championships were a really great experience for me and I’m thrilled that I was able to run my best and win,” he commented. “Everything here in Japan is fresh and exciting and everyone was so kind to me. I’m really grateful to the ISF and Japan Skyrunning Association for hosting this competition and inviting me.” Unsurprisingly, apart from his natural talents, Natsagdorj trains hard. His secret?
“I practice five days a week and, before an important race, run 20-30 kilometres in the high mountains on practice days. I think it’s important to enjoy nature and different cultures and countries when running. Next, I’ll be participating in the Skyrunner World Series in Malaysia and Japan.”
Saturday’s VERTICAL took off with the SkySnow Vertical, a 3.5 km-long course with 610m vertical climb reaching 2,080m altitude, while Sunday’s CLASSIC, the Tsumagoi SkySnow, was a 10 km-long loop with 850m vertical climb summiting at 2,110m altitude, unfortunately hampered by bad weather making for a small change of course but maintaining the parameters.
Women’s winner of the VERTICAL was Japan’s Airi Fuse, who stated, “I struggled with the rough snow and felt the difficulty of a speed race with a constant incline. I didn’t think I could win this time, but I pulled it off! Managing to win despite the conditions gave me confidence. As a representative of Japan, I’d like to do my best at the next World Championships,” she concluded.
Representing the strong line-up from Japan were medallists from the 2023 and 2024 Youth Skyrunning World Championships, including twin sisters Yuna and Rina Ogake, just 15-years old. Again, they swiped the board, with Rina taking the gold in the CLASSIC and Yuna, the silver. Yuna also took the bronze in the VERTICAL and a gold medal for the Combined title.
“I was disappointed that I didn’t get a good result in the VERTICAL on the first day, so I was determined to win the CLASSIC and gave it my all from the beginning,” commented Rina. She closed no less than 19 minutes ahead of her sister. “The gap with the runners behind didn’t widen and it was a tense race until the end. In other words, thanks to the other runners, I was able to show my strength!”
South Korea and Australia put together solid performances to claim a silver and a bronze medal respectively for the Combined title, based on the results of both the VERTICAL and SKY disciplines.
After two World Championships and two Continental Championships, SkySnow, the new winter skyrunning discipline is here to stay. Next year will be the turn of the Word Championships so with spring in the air, training will now be heading to high altitude – the home of skyrunning.
Check out the new page listing all medallists, the country medal count and ranking and, above all, access the new individual athlete’s profile across a two-year and 365-day ranking.
SKYSNOW ASIA PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS CLASSIC
Tsumagoi SkySnow Classic
Men
Gold – Luvsansharav Natsagdorj (MGL) – 52’02”
Silver – Junta Nakajima (JPN) – 59’16”
Bronze – Jun Kaise (JPN) – 59’27”
Women
Gold – Rina Ogake (JPN) – 1h11’12”
Silver – Yuna Ogake (JPN) – 1h12’25”
Bronze – Riko Obata (JPN) – 1h14’24”
SKYSNOW ASIA PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS VERTICAL
Tsumagoi SkySnow Vertical
Men
Gold – Luvsansharav Natsagdorj (MGL) – 28’10”
Silver – Junta Nakajima (JPN) – 31’48”
Bronze – Tomofumi Miyagawa (JPN) – 33’21”
Women
Gold – Airi Fuse (JPN) – 37’33”
Silver – Karen Kobayashi (JPN) – 38’17”
Bronze – Yuna Ogake (JPN) – 38’47”
SKYSNOW COMBINED ASIA PACIFIC CHAMPIONS
(based on the results of both the VERTICAL and SKY disciplines)
Men
Gold – Luvsansharav Natsagdorj (MGL)
Silver – Junta Nakajima (JPN)
Bronze – Billy Curtis (AUS)
Women
Gold – Yuna Ogake (JPN)
Silver – Seonyeong Kim (KOR)
Full ranking – includes medal count, country ranking and individual athlete’s profile
More info
Course Certification
Race website
