Climbing continued today at the Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue, this time hosting Women’s Combined: Semifinal (Boulder) and Men’s Speed: Qualification. Four (4) athletes took to the stage to represent Team USA for another packed stadium.

Grossman and Raboutou Finish 5th and 3rd in Women’s Combined: Semifinal (Boulder)

20 women representing 13 National Olympic Committees competed in the Boulder round, including Natalia Grossman and Brooke Raboutou. It was Grossman’s first Olympic appearance and Raboutou’s second, having competed alongside Colin Duffy in Tokyo three years ago.

Grossman climbed further than most of her competition on Boulder 1, but was ultimately stopped at the 10 hold. After that, Boulder 2 went perfectly for her – she was one of just two (2) athletes (the other being Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret) to flash Boulder 2, reaching the top hold on her very first attempt. Grossman went on to reach another 10 hold on Boulder 3 and another top hold on Boulder 4, finishing 5th in the round.

Raboutou made a strong impression, becoming one of only four (4) athletes to top Boulder 1. She then topped Boulder 2 in just two (2) attempts. Things finally slowed down for her on Boulder 3, where she reached the 10 hold. She found her 3rd top hold of the round on Boulder 4, showcasing her comfort on powerful and technical boulders alike and finishing 3rd in the round.

“That definitely lit the fire in me and I’m really excited for more,” said Raboutou after the round.

Watson Advances and Sets World Record in Men’s Speed: Qualification, Hammer Eliminated

14 men from 11 National Olympic Committees raced in the Speed Qualification, including Zach Hammer and Sam Watson for Team USA. Just as the women did one day before, the men began with a seeding heat, establishing ranking based on fastest times. The previous Olympic record (5.45) was broken time and time again, with Watson briefly holding the Olympic record (4.91), but it eventually settled with Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo (4.79), only beating Watson’s world record by mere thousandths of a second.

Hammer’s fastest time in the seeding heat was his first (6.05). While his second race had a fantastic start, a slip landed him in almost the same position (6.06) as the first race.

Those times resulted in Watson and Hammer being paired for the elimination heat, one Team USA climber versus the other. That’s where Watson made history, reaching the buzzer in just 4.75 seconds, a new world record. Hammer lost the race and was ultimately eliminated, but hugged and congratulated Watson once they reached the ground.

Speaking after the round, Waston told us, “I want to be the best athlete, I want to keep pushing the limits. That’s always the person I’ve been and that’s always the person I’ll be in this sport.”

Tomorrow, August 7, Team USA’s Colin Duffy, Jesse Grupper, and Emma Hunt return to the stage for Men’s Combined: Semifinal (Lead) and Women’s Speed: Final.

You can watch Sport Climbing live (or on-demand at any time after the events) on TeamUSA.com, the NBC Olympics app, and Peacock. Up-to-date schedules, as well as live results, will be available on Olympics.com.