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Sam Watson (climber)

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Samuel Watson
Personal information
Born (2006-02-27) February 27, 2006 (age 18)
Southlake, Texas, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Utah
OccupationProfessional climber
Years active2021–present
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Climbing career
Type of climberSpeed climbing
Sport
Coached byAlbert Ok
Medal record
Men's competition climbing
Representing the  United States
Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Speed
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2022 Edinburgh Speed
Gold medal – first place 2024 Salt Lake City Speed
Gold medal – first place 2024 Chamonix Speed
Silver medal – second place 2024 Wujiang Speed
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Speed

Samuel Watson (born February 27, 2006)[1] is an American professional rock climber who specializes in competition speed climbing and represents the United States at IFSC Climbing World Cups. He holds the world record for the discipline at 4.74 seconds, accomplished at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, where he took a bronze medal.[2]

Career

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In 2021 Watson won a silver medal at the Youth B category of the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships in Voronezh, Russia. In 2022 he won a gold medal at the Edinburgh, Scotland IFSC Climbing World Cup, in speed, and became the youngest climber to do so.[3][4][5][6] Also in 2022, Watson won, a bronze medal at the Youth A category of the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships in Dallas, Texas, and won first in the US National Speed Climbing Championship.[7]

In 2023, Watson set a US and Pan American speed climbing records at 5.02 seconds,[8][9] at the 2023 IFSC Climbing World Cup in Seoul, Korea.[10] At the Pan American Games that year, he won the gold medal and qualified in speed climbing for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[11]

In the leadup to the Olympics, he set a world record for the discipline at 4.798 seconds, accomplished in the 2024 IFSC Climbing World Cup in Wujiang.[12] At the Olympics, he lost to Wu Peng in the semifinal round, and took the bronze medal in the small final. Along the way, he broke his own world record twice. He set the current world record of 4.74 seconds in the small final, climbing against Reza Alipour.[13]

Watson is originally from Texas,[7] and resides in Millcreek, Utah.[3][14]

Major results

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Olympic Games

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Discipline 2024
Speed 3

World championships

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Discipline 2023
Speed 71

World Cup

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Discipline 2022 2023 2024
Speed 5 3 1

References

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  1. ^ "WATSON Sam". Paris 2024 Olympics. August 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "2024 Paris Olympics". 2024 Paris Olympics. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  3. ^ a b "Samuel Watson". Athletes. International Federation of Sport Climbing. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  4. ^ McCarvel, Nick (May 18, 2023). "Speed climbing is as fast as it's ever been - and Samuel Watson has the moves to go even faster". Olympic News. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  5. ^ Bowker, Paul (September 12, 2022). "Samuel Watson captures World Cup climbing gold in Edinburgh". Team USA. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  6. ^ Burgman, John (September 12, 2022). "Americans Golden In Lead And Speed at Edinburgh World Cup. Records Smashed. Results". Climbing.
  7. ^ a b Pardy, Aaron (November 12, 2022). "Sam Watson and Callie Close Win USA Speed Climbing National Championships". Gripped.
  8. ^ "Speed records". USA Climbing. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  9. ^ "Speed records". International Federation of Sport Climbing. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  10. ^ "General result speed men". IFSC – Climbing World Cup (B,S) – Seoul (KOR) 2023. International Federation of Sport Climbing. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  11. ^ "Grossman, Grupper, and Watson Qualify for Paris 2024".
  12. ^ "SUPER SAM LOWERS SPEED WORLD RECORD – TWICE!". IFSC. April 12, 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  13. ^ "Team USA's Sam Watson Wins Bronze Medal In World Record Fashion". KSL Sports. August 9, 2024.
  14. ^ "Millcreek is home to the world's fastest speed climber". eepurl.com. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
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