USA’s Sam Watson broke his own Speed climbing world record, securing his place in the quarter-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In a dramatic turn of events, Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo matched the existing world record of 4.79 seconds during the seeding round. Shortly after, 18-year-old Watson surpassed this with an incredible 4.75-second run in the elimination heats, setting a new world record and advancing to the last eight.
Leonardo, along with reigning world champion Matteo Zurloni of Italy, also progressed to the quarter-finals, which are scheduled for Thursday.
Record-Breaking Performances in Men’s Speed Qualifying
The men’s Speed climbing event saw multiple records broken. A day after Aleksandra Mirosław set a new world record in the women’s Speed qualifying, the men took the stage on Tuesday afternoon.
The qualifying round determined seeding for the elimination round, with climbers having two attempts to achieve their best possible time.
The records began tumbling early, with Indonesia’s Rahmad Adi Mulyono setting a new Olympic record of 5.07 seconds in the second pairing. This was quickly matched by Wu Peng, winner of the Olympic Qualifier Series 2024 in Budapest. Leonardo then set a new Olympic record of 4.92 seconds, which Watson bested with a 4.91-second run. Amir Maimuratov of Kazakhstan took the record further down to 4.89 seconds by the end of the first rotation.
During the second seeding runs, Leonardo equaled Watson’s previous world record time of 4.79 seconds, setting the stage for the elimination round.
In the elimination heats, Leonardo advanced by defeating Adi Mulyono, who had a false start in his second seeding run. Watson eliminated fellow American Zach Hammer, setting the new world record in the process. Maimuratov and Wu also advanced, while home favorite Bassa Mawem thrilled the French crowd by narrowly beating Yaroslav Tkach by just 0.01 seconds to move on.
The climbers advancing to the quarter-finals include:
- Sam Watson (USA)
- Veddriq Leonardo (Indonesia)
- Matteo Zurloni (Italy)
- Amir Maimuratov (Kazakhstan)
- Wu Peng (China)
- Bassa Mawem (France)
The quarter-finals promise to be an exciting showdown as climbers aim to set new records and vie for Olympic glory.
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