Sam Watson is leaving Paris with another world record and a bronze medal.
The 18-year-old from Southlake, Texas, earned bronze in the first ever Olympic men's speed climbing event at Le Bourget Climbing Venue Thursday morning and made history in the process.
Watson broke his previous record of 4.75 seconds, which he set on Tuesday, by posting a 4.74 in the bronze-medal race against Iran's Reza Alipour.
Sam Watson, an 18-year-old from North Texas, talked to NBC 5's Laura Harris about setting a speed climbing record and winning a bronze medal the Paris Olympics.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Watson started his day with a quarterfinal win over New Zealand's Julian David at 5.03 seconds. He then lost to China's Wu Peng in the semifinals with a 4.93, just .08 seconds away from a spot in the gold medal race.
Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo went on to win gold with a 4.75-second climb in the final, while Peng got silver with a 4.77.
Sam Watson was a kid from Texas dreaming of going to the Olympics; this year, he’s heading to Paris to represent Team USA in Olympic climbing.
