Sam Watson flew up a 15-meter climbing wall in Paris in 4.75 seconds on Tuesday, shaving 0.04 seconds off his previous best time and setting a new record. The 18-year-old American set a speed climbing world record, which was also a record for the fastest time in any Olympic event, CNN reports. "I suppose 4.75, the fastest time ever run in the Olympics in a timed sport," he said. "That's a cool title, no one can take that away I suppose." Video of the climb can be seen here.
Watson, a University of Utah freshman who grew up in Texas, set the previous world record of 4.79 seconds in April at the International Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup in China, Axios reports. It was equalled by Indonesian climber Veddriq Leonardo moments before Watson set the new record in Tuesday's elimination heat. The men's quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will take place on Thursday. After scoring the record time on Tuesday, Watson had mixed feelings because he was competing in an elimination heat against a fellow American, Zach Hammer, the AP reports. "It sucks, there's no better way to put that," he said. "I love him, he's like a brother to me. We've trained so much together." (More 2024 Paris Olympics stories.)
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