Watson vs. Wu Prediction on August 8, 2024

Match info

Three years ago, sport climbing debuted at the Olympics in Tokyo, when its three disciplines—speed, bouldering, and lead—were integrated into a single competition. Because of this, climbers who were more well-rounded than those who specialized in a particular discipline ended up on the podium. The sport will have two Olympic divisions in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games: speed and boulder/lead combination. The common consensus is that this is an improvement over Tokyo because lead and bouldering are more akin to one another than either is to speed.

Here, we’ll discuss men’s speed climbing and share our top picks for gold in Paris and the odds from the best offshore sportsbooks that reflect the value of those kinds of results. The men’s speed qualification begins on Tuesday, August 6, with the finals on Thursday, August 8, at 12:55 p.m. local time at the Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, which is built especially for the Summer Games and will be opened only during the event. The maiden Olympic winner in the sport is Spaniard Alberto Ginés López, but now that sport climbing is separated into two disciplines, he has chosen to compete in boulder/lead.

Meeting statistics

With a timing of 4.79 seconds, set at the IFSC Climbing World Cup this April, American Samuel Watson now holds the world record in men’s speed. He’s probably going to finish on the podium in Paris, but it’s not a given. In the same World Cup competition, he lost to Wu Peng of China in the final run time of 5.11 seconds, finishing in second place. At 16 years old, he won his first speed World Cup gold in 2022, making him the youngest climber ever and the first American to do it. Watson has since won two more gold medals, one in Chamonix and the other in Salt Lake City. The already gifted Watson’s ascension appeared to be accelerated by his victory in the Pan-American Games, which guaranteed him a seat in Paris. Unquestionably, the one worth watching in Paris!

Wu, a two-time World Cup champion, climbed the wall at the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) competition in Shanghai in 4.88 seconds. The Chinese enjoys competing domestically. Wu won gold in the 2023 World Cup in Wujiang. He defended the top step in 2024 as a follow-up. Wu then earned a second-place result from the OQS in Shanghai, but he won the competition in Budapest, which was his final competition before Paris, to guarantee his berth in the Games.

Match analytics

Although there are a few more climbers who rightfully aim for gold in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games speed event, we think that Watson and Wu have the most chances to do so. An American is our favorite No. 1.

Tip: Speed – Men – Winner – Samuel Watson, with odds of 3.02 at Mr Bit.