BALI, May 3 (Xinhua) -- American Samuel Watson claimed the men's speed climbing gold in a world record time of 4.64 seconds at the IFSC World Cup Bali on Saturday, marking his fifth record-breaking performance in this event.
During recent winter training, both Watson and China's 15-year-old rising star Zhao Yicheng - who has not yet reached the age limit for international competition this year - posted consecutive performances under 4.70 seconds.
The international climbing community had been highly anticipative of a new record ahead of the World Cup season opener in Wujiang, east China's Jiangsu Province last week, but only saw Watson finish fourth after slipping in the semifinals.
Watson did not keep the world waiting long, as he set a new world record of 4.67 seconds in the semifinal against Indonesia's Raharjati Nursamsa in Bali. Less than 10 minutes later, he improved his own record by 0.03 seconds in the final against Japan's Ryo Omasa.
"To be quite honest, I didn't expect to break the world record," Watson admitted regarding the challenging weather conditions in Bali. "The qualifies and the practice were boiling, I had to put an ice bucket on my head. But I am a competitor, I want to compete regardless of what's going on. The conditions affect everybody."
19-year-old Watson is a bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics, where he set the previous world record of 4.74 seconds in the bronze medal match.
The women's speed gold went to world record holder Aleksandra Mikjailova of Poland, who beat China's Zhou Yafei in the final in Bali. Indonesia climbers Kiromal Katibin and Adi Asih Kadek secured the men's and women's bronze, respectively.
Speed climbing features a unified 15-meter track for both men and women and holds the shortest time record of all Olympic events. Since being included as a standalone sport in the Olympics, its world record has been frequently broken during the Paris 2024 cycle, with both the men's and women's records having been broken seven times each (not including this latest record) since 2023. ■
