Step aside Noah Lyles – Sam Watson is the new fastest kid on the block

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Step aside, Noah Lyles, there is a new fastest kid on the block.

In a real blink-and-you-miss-it moment, teenager Sam Watson reclaimed his world record in men’s speed climbing in the time it takes most people to go and stick the kettle on.

Veddriq Leonardo equalled Watson’s previous best in the seeding round, clocking 4.79 seconds to scale a 15-metre high wall, or to put it another way: exactly half the time it took for Usain Bolt to set a new world record in the 100 metre sprint that no-one has got near since.

Not to be outdone by the Indonesian, Watson clocked 4.75 secs in the elimination heats in the same session to reassert his dominance and move into Friday’s quarter-finals.

And, in bad news for his rivals, the 18-year-old could theoretically climb two walls faster than Olympic champion Lyles could run 100m.

“I can go a lot faster,” he said. “I’m in the Olympic final and we’re going to try and compete for a medal.

“My goal is to win races and that’s the only goal, speed climbing is about winning races and finals, so we’re going to do that.

“Long-term goals, of course I want to push times and get to under 4.5 seconds. I want to be the best athlete, I want to keep pushing the limits.”

Climbing made its Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago with combined events for both men and women but in Paris the speed element is an individual event on its own.

In qualification, competitors race in pairs but are up against the clock rather than against each other and the fastest eight qualifiers go into the quarter-finals.

But from this stage on, it turns into a straight knockout, with Watson going up against Julian David in his last-eight encounter. Leonardo, who became the first person to break the five-second barrier last year, is in the other half of the draw.

“I’m very proud of every single athlete who’s invested in speed climbing and who’s gone on a unique path to become part of a sport that’s become one of the most amazing and fast-developing sports of all time,” the Texan said.

“To be at the forefront of that with the world and Olympic record really does matter a lot to me.

“I’m very proud to be analysing absolutely everything and going for the fastest times possible through any means possible.”