American Sam Watson breaks own world record for sport climbing bronze

Aug. 8 (UPI) -- American Sam Watson just missed out on the gold-medal final,, but broke his own world record and gained an Olympic bronze medal in sport climbing Thursday in Le Bourget, France.

Watson also broke his own world record with a 4.75-second climb Tuesday in men's speed sport climbing qualifications. He then beat New Zealand's Julian David with a 5.03-second climb in the quarterfinals.

Watson then lost to China's Wu Peng on Thursday in the semifinals -- clocking a 4.93-second climb, compared to his foe's 4.85-second ascent.

The 18-year-old Southlake, Texas, native returned to the 49-foot wall with a 5-degree incline minutes later, posting a world-record time of 4.74 -- beating his old mark by 0.01 second -- to earn his first Olympic medal.

Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo (4.75) beat Wu (4.77) in the gold-medal final. Iran's Reza Alipour (4.88) finished fourth.

Poland's Aleksandra Miroslaw won the gold medal in the women's speed final for sport climbing. China's Deng Lijuan and Poland's Aleksandra Kalucka won respective silver and bronze medals.

The men's boulder and lead final for sport climbing will be Friday in Le Bourget. The women's boulder and lead final will be Saturday in Le Bourget.