Paris Olympics: Why American climber said 'it sucks' after breaking own world record

AT THE GAMES — Team USA sport climber Sam Watson had an interesting reaction after breaking his own world record in speed climbing.

The 18-year-old from Southlake, Texas, scaled the speed wall in 4.75 seconds Tuesday, breaking the 4.79-second record he set at the World Cup in Wujiang, China, in April to advance to the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics.

But as soon as the University of Utah student lowered his harness to the ground — and with the crowd going bonkers for his incredible feat — Watson cast his gaze to his opponent.

To scale the man-made mountain moments after Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo had matched his 4.79, Watson had to beat his Team USA teammate Zach Hammer. So before he advanced to Thursday's quarterfinals, he walked over and embraced his teammate.

"It sucks," Watson told the Associated Press of matching up with Hammer in the early rounds, "there's no better way to put that."

That's not to say that Watson isn't proud of his achievement. He was just battling mixed emotions three years after sport climbing made its Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021.

"I suppose 4.75, the fastest time ever run in the Olympics in a timed sport," said Watson, per CNN. "That's a cool title, no one can take that away I suppose."

Watson trains in the Salt Lake City area, where USA Climbing is headquartered. The non-profit sports federation has plans to build a new, 45,000-square foot facility in the Rio Grande District that could include a potential 99-year lease to keep the federation in the Beehive State.

Salt Lake has been good to Watson, too. He won gold at the IFSC Climbing World Cup in the city in 2024 — his third gold medal in a Climbing World Cup — before taking silver in speed in Wujiang.

Wayment finishes 12th in women's steeplechase final

Former BYU and Davis High standout Courtney Wayment capped her first Olympic games with a 12th-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final Tuesday in a meet broadcast on NBC.

Wayment, 26, opened the blisteringly fast race in the back of the pack in 14th before moving up to 12th in 9 minutes, 13.60 seconds.

Bahrani athlete Winfred Yavi set an Olympic record with a gold-medal time of 8:52.76. Uganda's Peruth Chemutai, who won silver, set a national record in 8:53.34. Kenya's Faith Cherotich was third with a personal-best time of 8:55.15.

It's the first in world athletics history that four women ran sub-9 second finals in the same race.

In all, 10 of the top 11 finishers finished with a new personal-best, season-best, or national record in the event. Wayment, a former eight-time All-American at BYU who trains with her collegiate coach Diljeet Taylor, also improved on her time of 9:25.90 at last year's World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Wayment's finish is the highest Olympic placement in women's track and field byu a former BYU athlete since 2000.

"I ran the smartest race that I could have and I am very proud." she said. "Thank you so much for the love and the support. Hopefully we made you proud. There is more to come and I am excited for the future. "

Fellow BYU steeplechase alum Kenneth Rooks, who trains with Utah-based Run Elite Program, will compete in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase Wednesday at 1:40 p.m. MDT.

Plourde runs 1,500-meter heat in 4:06.59

Former University of Utah athlete Simone Plourde finished ninth in her 1,500-meter heat in 4:06.59 Tuesday, failing to qualify for the finals of the event.

But the native of Montreal, Quebec, who represented Canada will get a second chance through Wednesday's repechage round.

Plourde, who began her career at BYU, will open the repechage — French for "fishing out" or "rescuing" that allows runners who didn't immediately advance from the first round a second effort in the event — beginning at 4:45 a.m. MDT.

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