Sport Climbing Combined Olympics: Google Doodle Releases Special Artwork as 18-Year-Old American Breaks World Record

Google Doodle released a special artwork to celebrate the Sport Climbing Combined event at the Paris 2024 Olympics after 18-year-old Sam Watson broke the world record.

By Natasha Bose

Published on Aug 07, 2024 | 04:01 PM IST | 631.3K

Google Doodle Honors Combined Sport Climbing At Olympics As American Sets New World Record

Google's August 7th Doodle celebrates the Paris Games' Sport Climbing Combined Olympics event. The doodle features an animated bird climbing an eagle-shaped hill.

This tribute coincides with USA's Sam Watson breaking his own Speed World record during the sport climbing event's quarterfinals in Paris 2024. The 18-year-old American climber Sam Watson made history by scaling a 15-meter wall in just 4.75 seconds, surpassing his previous record of 4.79 seconds set at the Wujiang World Cup in April.

The sport, relatively new on the Olympic stage, has quickly captured the attention of fans. For those curious about this rising sport, here’s what you need to know!

First things first, when exactly did climbing become an Olympic sport? Climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Before that, it appeared at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in 2018.

The inclusion of climbing, along with skateboarding and surfing, aimed to diversify the Olympics and attract younger audiences. Sport climbing will also feature in the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.

So, how does Olympic climbing work? Olympic sport climbing includes three disciplines: bouldering, speed, and lead.

Bouldering: Climbers ascend a 4.5-meter wall without ropes, aiming to reach the top in the fewest attempts within a limited time.
Lead: Climbers try to go as high as possible on a 15-meter wall within six minutes in a single attempt.
Speed: In one-on-one elimination rounds, climbers race up a 15-meter wall with a five-degree incline. Top male climbers do it in under six seconds, while top female climbers typically finish in under seven seconds.

Now that we are acquainted with the details of the Olympic event, here's all about Sam Watson, the teenager who broke his own world record in sport climbing.

As of Tuesday, this 18-year-old from Texas is the fastest-ever Olympian in vertical climbing.

When Sam Watson set a world record of 4.75 seconds in the Paris suburbs, he earned a unique sporting accolade.

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

Asked if he thinks he can go faster, Watson responded confidently. "Obviously, the goal is to win the races; the goal is to get to the top of the podium, but yes, I do," he said via CNN.

Watson's parents described him as a child who loved climbing anything and everything in Southlake, Texas. They soon took him to a local climbing gym, where his talent and progress were quickly evident. At 16, he became the youngest man to win a medal at a World Cup event and set the American speed record the following year.

Winning at the Pan American Games secured Watson a spot on the US team for the Paris Olympics, where he now competes as a favorite for gold.

"I think it's probably one of my favorite life experiences," he said about competing at the Olympics.

"It's just incredible to be a member of Team USA, to see some of my childhood idols... to be in this village and to meet all these people—it means a lot to me. The Olympics are an incredible experience; I really am soaking it all in," continued Sam via CNN.

Outside of climbing, Watson enjoys playing chess and learning languages, including Indonesian, spoken by many top-speed climbers. Two of these climbers, Leonardo and Rahmad Adi Mulyono, briefly held the Olympic record during Tuesday's heats before Watson set his own record. He celebrated by pumping his fists on the descent, securing a spot in the final eight.