World record holder Sam Watson will compete in the men’s speed sport climbing event at the Paris Olympic Games on Thursday.
Watson, 18, set the world record of 4.79 seconds at the World Cup sport climbing competition in Wujiang, China, in April, but that record has already fallen and Watson is the one who broke it. During the qualification in Paris, he made it to the top of the wall in an astonishing 4.75 seconds.
Watson came to his first Olympic Games in Paris as number three in the world rankings.
He is considered the favorite to medal at the event, having finished on the podium three times at World Cup events, including in Salt Lake City in 2024 and Edinburgh in 2022.
“I want to win. It’s kind of weird to say that and I haven’t really come to terms with it yet, but I think
At this point, many people might say that I am the favorite for the gold medal because I am as fast as
the rest of the world,” Watson told NBC Sports in May. “Speed climbing is obviously about winning races, and I need to win those races in this format rather than just being the fastest. So that’s something I’m still working on.”
When will the men’s speed climbing finals take place?
The men’s speed climbing quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will take place on Thursday, August 8th.
The men’s speed climbing final will take place on August 8 at 6:54 a.m. ET.
Here’s a look at the schedule:
How to watch the men’s speed sport climbing competition?
The men’s speed climbing finals will be broadcast live on E! and Peacock and live streamed on nbcolympics.com.
The event will be repeated late at night on NBC.
