TOKYO — Zoraya Judd says there is nothing she would rather do than pole dance. She’s one of the best in the world at it and someday, she says, there might even be a place for her talents in the Olympics.

Riding a wave of popularity that has transformed a striptease genre into a cleaned-up and clothed version for fitness clubs around the world, Judd and dozens of the world’s top pole dancers — male and female — gathered in Tokyo last week for the International Pole Dancing Championships, a premier event in the budding sport.

Pole dancing’s destination, organizers hope, is the Olympics.

Hong Kong-based Ania Przeplasko, founder of the International Pole Dance Fitness Association, said efforts are under way made to make pole dancing a “test” event for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016. Pole dancers had tried to get on the schedule for London in 2012, but were too late to make a serious bid.

Organizers said Thursday’s championships marked a major step forward for sport pole dancing. The competition was held in a large arena near the Tokyo Dome, the Japanese capital’s main sports stadium, with competitors from countries ranging from Malaysia to Moldova.