U.S. climber claims the bronze medal with a world record time
Aug 8, 2024, 3:43 PM | Updated: 7:42 pm
PARIS — Another Olympic athlete with Utah ties is bringing home a medal after Thursday’s races.
Climber Sam Watson began the day in his quarterfinal race against New Zealand’s Julian David. That race against David was quick for Watson as he scaled the wall in 5.03 seconds, beating his opponent by over half a second.
During the semifinals, Watson was ahead against China’s Wu Peng, but he had a slight slip, allowing Peng to finish in front of him just by .08 seconds. This knocked Watson out of contention for the gold medal, but he still had a chance for bronze.
After refocusing himself, Watson showed he could still be a world-class climber against Iran’s Reza Alipour. In the quarterfinals, Watson earned a time of 4.74 seconds, setting another world record at the Summer Games and earning him the bronze medal.
“Obviously, I wanted a gold medal, but to be here as a medalist for my country, adding to the medal tally, and to be here at the Paris Olympics holding a piece of the original Eiffel tower on my neck next to my muffin really means a lot,” Watson told KSL TV.
Watson’s coach, Matt Maddison with USA Climbing, said it takes an exceptional climber to mentally forget about a slip in such a high-pressure competition and then do well in the next race.
“It really is a huge thing to deal with, and Sam is an absolute perfection, probably more than anyone I have met. So, for him, having a tiny slip somewhere is a big thing, but he also has the mindset to bring it back,” Maddison said.
Even though he didn’t win the whole thing, Watson said he was just happy his family and friends were in Paris to share this monumental moment with him.
“It’s incredible. They’ve been there for me my entire life, my entire climbing career, my entire World Cup climbing journey, and my entire Olympic journey. So, I think accomplishments like this only really matter as much as those you get to share them with, and I’m really happy they get to share it with me now,” he said.
Meanwhile, the women’s lead completion also happened Thursday, with the top eight qualifying for the finals. Team USA’s Natalia Grossman came in eleventh, but Brooke Roboutou clenched third place and will head to the boulder and lead finals on Saturday.
