Ep 10: Sam Watson - USA's Future Speed Olympian

That's Not Real Climbing

Sam is only 17 years old, yet he has already won gold at a world cup, holds the speed climbing record in the US, and recently secured his Paris 2024 Olympic ticket at the PanAm Qualifiers. In this episode, we’ll get more insight into speed climbing at the highest level, his experience at the PanAm Games, how he juggles personal life, school, and climbing, and we need your help in figuring out how he can up his social media game!

Guest links:

Instagram

Reference links:

IFSC Ones to Watch Interview

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Timestamps of discussion topics

0:00 - Introduction

3:53 - When Sam started climbing

7:21 - Is there an advantage to starting speed climbing younger?

8:56 - Does speed climbing come naturally

10:15 - Surprise! Speed Climbing is an endurance sport

12:06 - PanAm Games experience

19:39 - PanAm Village experience

22:52 - World Cup season in relation to the Olympics

25:14 - Do speed climbers get injuries?

28:34 - Technical false start explanation

37:17 - Breaking sub-5 and having a “clean” run

41:51 - Strength cycle jail

47:33 - Interest in doing non-speed climbing competitions?

51:17 - Figuring out the social media game

55:10 - Juggling high school and world cups

58:22 - Non-climbing hobbies

1:03:13 - Discord Q: Does speed relays have a future?

1:05:37 - How to upload athlete info into the IFSC website

1:07:29 - Discord Q: Who are your heroes?

1:10:26 - Discord Q: Any weird speed ideas/formats to try out?

1:12:04 - Discord Q: Do you do anything weird/unique in training?

1:13:21 - Discord: How do you handle shoe selection for speed?

1:17:15 - Memeing during an IFSC interview

1:18:57 - Where to find Sam + Outro