On Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024, rock climbing gym Movement Plano held a homecoming for Sam Watson, who won bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics Games.
The speed climber, who trains at Movement, he broke his own record for speed climbing at 4.74 seconds, besting the world record he set only days earlier by 0.01 seconds.
"Thank you all for coming today. It's a lot of people — more than I expected," Watson said. "I really appreciate every single one of you who came out."
A large crowd of locals greeted the Olympian, who showed off his bronze medal and posed for photos.
Watson, who was born in Southlake and is a freshman at the University of Utah, began climbing at age 5. He compares the sport to his other love, chess.
“It’s similar to climbing, you’re just trying to improve and every move leads to a position,” Watson told the official Olympics site. “You can analyze every single move, it’s so incredibly nuanced and I like the idea that you can never be perfect at it.”
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