Episode 5

"Hard Work and Talent" (努力と天賦, Doryoku to Tenpu) is the fifth episode of the Hang On! Sport Climbing Girls anime series.

Characters

 * Sayo Yotsuba
 * Nonoka Sugiura
 * Konomi Kasahara
 * Akane Uchimura
 * Masumi Fujita
 * Rina Samura
 * Kurea Ooba
 * Kikuko Goto
 * Juzo Goto
 * Chigusa Kumagai
 * Kaoru Niijima
 * Maruno Satou
 * Anne Kurusu
 * Hifumi Benibana
 * Chinari Iwamine
 * Jun Uehara
 * Rina Samura

Summary
Nonoka recalls how she met Sayo and got into sport climbing. She tells Konomi that she may "bomb" this competition and asks her to do well in her place, but as Konomi is shocked, Nonoka takes her words back and says she is joking and she was just nervous. Akane Uchimura attempts to climb a problem, but fails. Masumi Fujita takes on the same problem and manages to complete it surprising Nakada, the routesetter. Juzo Goto explains to Kikuko Goto that there are 8 problems the girls can climb and right now are the prelims, where they can line and attempt to climb them. He explains that the top 20 will continue in the semifinals and are determined by the number of routes climbed, then zones reached, then attempts needed to climb it and attempts needed to reach zones.

One by one, the girls climb problems and Konomi attempts a problem no one was able to climb so far, however she manages to reach the top, making her the first to solve it and reach the top. That impresses Nakada and makes all the other girls to start consider her as competition. Nonoka gets inspired by Konomi and attempts a route, but due to her height she is unable to reach for the top and ends up falling. Chinari Iwamine goes right after Nonoka and attempts the same route as her. But due to her height, she easily reaches the top without even using the corner, which annoys Nakada as he didn't intent the route to be climbed without using the corner.

The prelims time ends and Sayo has managed to climb seven routes, while Konomi four which impresses Sayo as its Konomi's actual competition. The results come in and Chinari and Masumi end up first and second as they climbed all eight routes. Chigusa and Sayo are third and fourth. Jun is tenth. Konomi manages to take last 20th place for the semifinals, while Nonoka ends up at 23rd. Seeing that Nonoka runs away, however Sayo goes after her, knowing that each time she loses, she goes on the same place. Sayo comments that short people are at disadvantage in bouldering, but the routesetter this time made the routes ever harder for short people. Sayo explains that without Nonoka, she would have never gone that far. Nonoka knows she is at disadvantage in bouldering and never complained, but after today's competition she is really sad that she is short.