Speed, Men

The men’s speed climbing event at Paris 2024 was held at the Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue. The separation of speed climbing into its own medal event, distinct from bouldering and lead climbing, allowed specialists to focus on their discipline, leading to higher performance levels and record-breaking runs.

Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo captured the gold medal with a personal best time of 4.75 seconds, narrowly defeating China’s Wu Peng, who finished in a personal best of 4.77 seconds for the silver medal. This victory marked Indonesia’s first Olympic gold medal outside of badminton.

Wu’s (CHN) stellar performance included a semifinal victory over American Sam Watson (USA), who set a world and Olympic record (4.74 seconds) during the bronze medal match against Iran’s Reza Alipour. Despite this record-breaking performance, Watson had earlier slipped in the semifinals against Wu, which relegated him to the small final.

Several notable athletes underperformed. Italy’s Matteo Zurloni, the 2023 World champion and a medal favorite, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Wu by just 0.002 seconds, while French veteran Bassa Mawem, competing on home soil and concluding his career at these Games, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual champion Leonardo. Despite strong support from the home crowd, Mawem’s time of 5.26 seconds was not enough to advance, leading to a seventh-place finish.