REDMOND — Nathaniel Coleman breezed up the five boulder problems Friday morning, contorting his body in myriad ways along the climbing wall in the middle of the event center at the Deschutes County fairgrounds.

Coleman, the only male American thus far to have earned an Olympic berth for the Tokyo Games in sport climbing, easily advanced to Saturday’s semifinals of the USA Climbing Bouldering National Championship, qualifying in first place Friday.

Coleman, 23 and of Salt Lake City, finished second at the bouldering nationals here last year. So now he is looking for a victory, but also for some training as he prepares for the 2020 Games, in which sport climbing will make its Olympic debut.

“This competition means a lot to me,” Coleman said Friday on the event center floor as he watched his competitors on the wall. “It was the pinnacle competition in my eyes for many years, and it’s been my dream for many years to do well at this competition.”

Coleman qualified for the Olympics by reaching the finals of the International Federation of Sport Climbing Combined Qualifier in Toulouse, France, in late November 2019.

“Yeah, it’s been kind of strange to reorient my goal,” Coleman said. “My goal was to make the Olympics for so long, now where do I put it? I think I have a pretty good idea, but I try to keep my goals kind of close, just so I don’t feel any pressure from anybody else.”

The U.S. has already filled its quota of two female climbers to compete in the Tokyo Games, as Kyra Condie, of Salt Lake City, and Brooke Raboutou, of Boulder, Colorado, qualified last year. Neither is competing in Redmond.

USA Climbing will have one more opportunity to qualify another male for Tokyo, at the Pan-American Continental Championships in Los Angeles later this month.

Two climbers still hoping to nab that final U.S. Olympic spot — Zach Galla, of Suwanee, Georgia, and Sean Bailey, of Seattle — are competing at the bouldering nationals, both advancing to Saturday’s semifinals. Galla finished second in Friday’s qualifying and Bailey was third. Bailey won last year’s nationals in Redmond ahead of Coleman. Bailey or Galla will have to win the Pan-American event to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

“I feel the strongest I’ve been, but one competition, that’s hard, you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” said Bailey, who said he basically learned to climb not far from Redmond at Smith Rock State Park on visits from Seattle during long weekends growing up.

Coleman got started in indoor climbing on a competition team when he was 9. But he also loves outdoor climbing, and he first climbed at Smith Rock last year when he was in Central Oregon for the bouldering nationals. He said his favorite outdoor bouldering spot near Salt Lake City is Little Cottonwood Canyon, just 20 minutes from his home.

Coleman said indoor and outdoor climbing are hard to compare.

“I think that both are things that I really value in my life,” he said.

“I’ve said before that if I had to choose one, I would have to go with outdoor climbing, because competition is fun, but I think that it’s hard to continue to … outdoor climbing, you’ll never do all the boulders in the world, there’s always something else to do. In competition, there is the possibility that you kind of reach your limit. And then it’s like, what are you setting your goals for?”

Including more than 100 climbers from across the country, the bouldering nationals competition has no Olympic implications, but it will serve to help select members of the U.S. national team that will compete internationally on the World Cup circuit this year.

Bouldering is one of three rock climbing disciplines that will make up the combined event for the Tokyo Games. Each Olympic climber will compete in bouldering, lead climbing and speed climbing for an overall combined ranking.

Bouldering is a form of rock climbing performed on small, overhanging rock formations, without the use of ropes or harnesses. In indoor bouldering contests, competitors must complete a preset course on a rock wall without falling. Those who complete the course the fastest and with the fewest falls will advance. The man-made courses are usually technically difficult, and they include overhanging walls, about 18 feet high, and tiny handholds.

At the bouldering nationals, the top 20 men and women from the qualifying rounds advanced to the semifinals, from which the top six men and women advance to the finals, set for Saturday night.

The layout for this nationals competition includes a 100-foot-long wall with about 10 different bouldering bays, positioned in the middle of the event center.

In the women’s competition Friday, Natalia Grossman, of Boulder, Colorado, qualified in first place, followed by Cloe Coscoy, of El Cerrito, California, and Maya Madere, of Austin, Texas.

“I think coming into the three different disciplines as a boulderer is the best place to come from,” Coleman said. “Bouldering is a powerful form of rock climbing, and the power translates to speed climbing. I’ve had to work the most on speed climbing, because it was so foreign to me and it is such a muscle-memory-learned activity.”

Coleman has a season of World Cup bouldering competitions ahead of him before the Tokyo Olympics (July 24-Aug. 9). He said he is not sure what to expect in Tokyo.

“I’ve heard a lot of stories,” he said. “It depends a lot on how the U.S. does in climbing. If we draw some attention and do well, maybe climbing will explode and the media will flock to it. But if we don’t do well, maybe it’ll be more of a mellow experience for us.”

Coleman has been a full-time, sponsored climber for the last five years, which he calls “a blessing.”

“Being able to focus completely on climbing, it’s a big advantage,” Coleman said. “Especially in competition.”

Where: Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, Redmond

When: Semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday. The women’s finals are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the men’s finals at 7:30 p.m.

Spectators: $15 for Saturday morning, $20 for Saturday evening.

Website: www.usaclimbing.org; livestream on ESPN3.