Olympics | Watson breaks world record, China's Wu makes final in men's speed climbing

PARIS, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sam Watson of the United States shattered his own world record, while China's Wu Peng successfully secured his spot in the final round of the men's speed climbing at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

The intense speed climbing qualification round, held at the Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue, featured a series of seeding and elimination stages to determine the top eight. Watson, who initially clocked 4.91 seconds in his seeding phase, astonishingly improved his world record from 4.79 seconds to a new high of 4.75 seconds during the elimination heat.

This remarkable achievement marks the third time this year that the 18-year-old American has broken the men's speed world record. He previously set two records at a World Cup meet in China in April.

"I want to push times and get under 4.5 seconds. I want to be the best athlete and keep pushing the limits. That's always the person I've been and always the person I'll be in this sport," he said after the qualifying round.

"My goal is to win races, and that's the only goal. Speed climbing is about winning races and finals, so we're going to do that."

Chinese climber Wu Peng demonstrated his skill, earning a place in Thursday's final round of the speed event with a time of 5.00 seconds in the elimination stage. His compatriot Long Jinbao did not qualify, losing to Italy's defending world champion Matteo Zurloni by a margin of 0.12 seconds.

The packed venue was abuzz with excitement despite the scorching heat, particularly when France's Bassa Mawen, the oldest competitor in the field, achieved a personal best of 5.16 seconds to edge out his opponent by just 0.01 seconds to qualify, a feat that elicited roaring applause from his home crowd.

"It's a moment of unbelievable joy," the 39-year-old exclaimed with emotion. "It was a beautiful duel, one I wasn't really favored to win, and I managed to grab it at the end, by 1/100th of a second."

"I grew up with this sport bit by bit. It's truly a privilege to be here now with all these inspiring young athletes whom I've also inspired," Mawen said. "To finish my career in the final with them is crazy. It's as crazy for them as it is for me."

Earlier that day, the women's combined semifinal boulder phase saw Slovenian defending gold medalist Janja Garnbret emerge as the only athlete to top all four boulders. She achieved an almost perfect score of 99.6 points, outstripping the second-ranked Oriane Bertone of France by 15.1 points.

China's Luo Zhilu, currently ranked ninth, still holds hopes of making it to the final as the eight final spots will be determined after Thursday's lead competition. However, her compatriot Zhang Yuetong, now in 15th place, faces slim chances of advancing.