American teenager Sam Watson sets world record in speed climbing, the fastest sport at the Paris Olympics

Sam Watson of the United States competes in the men's speed qualification elimination heats in Le Bourget, France on Aug. 6, 2024. (Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / AP Photo)

LE BOURGET, PARIS -

As of Tuesday, an 18-year-old from Texas can lay claim to being the fastest-ever Olympian – at least when it comes to travelling vertically.

When Sam Watson set a speed climbing world record of 4.75 seconds in the Parisian suburbs, where a temporary climbing wall has been installed for the Olympics, he became the owner of a unique sporting accolade.

“I suppose 4.75, the fastest time ever run in the Olympics in a timed sport,” said Watson. “That’s a cool title, no one can take that away I suppose.”

For those spectating at a speed climbing event, a moment’s distraction can prove costly. Athletes scale a 15-metre wall in around five seconds, scampering up a series of holds towards a red buzzer at the top of the route.

Lightning reactions and fast-twitch muscle fibres are a necessity in this event, while the slip of a foot or a momentary lapse of concentration can result in an athlete’s elimination from the competition.

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Watson set the previous speed climbing world record of 4.79 seconds at a World Cup event in China earlier this year, before Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo matched that time in Tuesday’s heats. The next round, Watson went quicker once again.

This sport is not solely about going as fast as you can, but also about beating your opponent in a head-to-head race. Even a slow time can gain a spot in the next round if it means slapping the red buzzer at the top of the wall ahead of the adjacent person.

“I want to win these races and I want to get to the top of the podium,” said Watson. “But I did go a lot faster in practice and I did have the idea that it was possible (to get a world record).

“I told myself, if I bring the athlete that I have become to the Olympic Games, it is very possible I can break a world record on this stage in front of this crowd, and it definitely was a really cool life experience.”

Sport climbing made its Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, controversially combining three disciplines – speed, bouldering and lead – into one medal event.

Speed climbing is considered a different skill to lead and bouldering, and mastering all three is a near-impossible task. Czech Republic’s Adam Ondra, widely believed to be one of the greatest all-around climbers in the world, called the previous format a “circus” as he struggled to get to grips with the act of ascending a wall as quickly as possible.

The format has changed for Paris, with speed climbing now one medal event and lead and bouldering another.

The men’s speed finals will take place on Thursday in Le Bourget and the women’s on Wednesday. Earlier this week, Poland’s Aleksandra Mirosław beat her own women’s world record twice, clocking times of 6.24 and 6.06 seconds in the heats.

Asked if he thinks he can go faster still, Watson had few doubts. “Obviously, the goal is to win the races, the goal is to get to the top of the podium, but yes, I do,” he said.

 

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In the words of his parents, Watson said he was a “vertically challenged child” growing up in Southlake, Texas, constantly putting himself in danger by scaling anything and everything he could find.

They soon took him to a local climbing gym, and from there, his talent was obvious and his progress swift. In 2022, he became the youngest man in history to win a medal at a World Cup event aged 16, and then set the American speed record the following year.

Victory at the Pan American Games earned Watson a spot on the U.S. team for the Paris Olympics, and he now enters the finals as one of the favorites to win gold.

“I think it’s probably one of my favourite life experiences,” he said about competing at the Olympics.

“It’s just incredible to be a member of Team USA, to see some of my childhood idols … to be in this Village and to meet all these people – it means a lot to me. The Olympics is an incredible experience, I really am soaking it all in.”

Away from climbing, Watson is an avid chess player and loves learning languages. That includes Indonesian, the nationality of many of the world’s top speed climbers, two of whom – Leonardo and Rahmad Adi Mulyono – briefly owned the Olympic record during Tuesday’s heats in Paris.

That was before Watson laid down his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it marker for the rest of the competition – and the world – to chase. He celebrated by pumping his fists on the slow descent back down to earth, a spot in the final eight secured.