2024 Paris Olympics

American teen Sam Watson wins speed climbing bronze with new world record

The 18-year-old broke his own world record to win bronze in the inaugural Olympic speed climbing event.

By Max Molski • •

Sam Watson is leaving Paris with another world record and a bronze medal.

The 18-year-old from Southlake, Texas, earned bronze in the first ever Olympic men's speed climbing event at Le Bourget Climbing Venue Thursday morning and made history in the process.

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Watson broke his previous record of 4.75 seconds, which he set on Tuesday, by posting a 4.74 in the bronze-medal race against Iran's Reza Alipour.

Sam Watson, an 18-year-old from North Texas, talked to NBC 5's Laura Harris about setting a speed climbing record and winning a bronze medal the Paris Olympics.
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Watson started his day with a quarterfinal win over New Zealand's Julian David at 5.03 seconds. He then lost to China's Wu Peng in the semifinals with a 4.93, just .08 seconds away from a spot in the gold medal race.

Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo went on to win gold with a 4.75-second climb in the final, while Peng got silver with a 4.77.

Sam Watson was a kid from Texas dreaming of going to the Olympics; this year, he’s heading to Paris to represent Team USA in Olympic climbing.

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2024 Paris Olympics
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