The 2023 Pan American Games saw the introduction of many disciplines. Bodybuilding was dropped after making its debut in the Peruvian capital four years ago. Simultaneously, breaking, skateboarding, and sport climbing will make their debut. Sport climbing is usually categorized into three disciplines namely, boulder, lead, and speed. The gold medal winner automatically qualifies for the Paris Olympics 2024.

Sport climbing made its first appearance in the Olympic Games in Tokyo not that long ago. As part of the Paris Olympics 2024, there will be two events in sport climbing. One will be a combination of boulder and lead climbing. The other will be speed climbing. Both events are also in the line-up for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Samuel Watson beats out his teammate for ticket to Paris Olympics 2024

Team USA’s 17-year-old Samuel Watson emerged with the gold medal in men’s speed climbing. In the process, he booked himself a seat on the plane to the City of Light. Watson beat out his teammate Noah Bratschi to complete the climb in 5.37 seconds, according to Olympics.com. Both were separated by only 0.05 seconds during the semifinals. Watson took full advantage of a stumble by Bratschi as they raced up the wall to clinch the win. Bratschi took 5.96 seconds to reach the top.

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Incidentally, Watson is also the American record holder for speed climbing with 5.02 seconds. He came close to equaling that during the quarter-finals wherein he clocked 5.05 seconds. Watson beat Ecuadorian Isaac Estevez at that stage, before knocking out Canadian Ethan Flynn-Pitcher in the semifinals. His trajectory mirrors the speed of his chosen discipline. He was only 14 when the announcement was made that speed climbing would have its own medal in the Paris Olympics 2024. That singular moment altered his life, for the good.

Speed climbing in a nutshell

Speed climbing is all about getting up the wall as fast as humanly possible. The wall in question is 15m tall and inclined at a five-degree angle. It is usually contested via one-on-one elimination rounds. The World Record for men in the discipline is presently held by Indonesian climber Kiromal Katibin with 5.00 seconds.

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Samuel Watson was left off the list of athletes to watch out for in Santiago. The same will not happen to him once it is time to visit the French capital. Watson will be one of those hopeful of winning the gold medal. It remains to be seen if he can repeat the feat at the Paris Olympics 2024.

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