Olympic climber Sam Watson's homecoming in Plano, Texas

On Sunday, August 18, 2024, the Movement Plano rock climbing gym held a homecoming for Sam Watson, who won the bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The speed climber, who trains at Movement, smashed his own speed climb record with 4.74 seconds, beating the world record he set just days earlier by 0.01 seconds.

“Thanks to everyone for coming today. There's a lot of people — more than I expected,” Watson said. “I really appreciate each and every 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, started climbing at age 5. He compares this sport to his other love, chess.

“It's similar to climbing, you're just trying to get better and every move leads to a position,” Watson told him. Official website of the Olympic Games. “You can analyze every single move, it's incredibly nuanced and I love the idea that you can never be perfect at it.”

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