While Miroslaw was disappointed with a bronze in Kraków, Watson had to put a false start behind him in Poland – and he did it in style by flipping it around for the fifth gold of his career.
Watson looked focussed and determined to win in Chamonix and defend the gold he won last year.
Talking about his win Watson said: “This is the crown jewel of the World Cup circuit here in Chamonix. It’s my second time, so a repeat of last year, and this one meant a lot.”
Everyone knows Watson is fast, but in Speed you also need to be consistent – and Watson was that also. Every finals run was under five seconds, and in the gold medal race he was very close to his personal best.
“The funny thing is that a 4.65 with a 1.90 reaction time, legally I could have gone 0.09 faster and got the world record,” said Watson, “but it’s quite poetic considering my false start at the last one and my slow and cautious reaction times this comp. But records will fall in the future and I’m happy to be on the top step of the podium.”
Watson’s opponent in the gold medal race was Kazakhstan’s Rishat Khaibullin who was getting his personal best times down and down. A 4.88s in the quarter-final was followed by a 4.83s in the semi-final, but the gold medal race was just one run to far.
Khaibullin posted a 4.87s for silver against Watson’s 4.65s. The silver for Khaibullin was the second of his career, with both coming in Chamonix – his first was in 2023.
Talking after winning his medal Khaibullin said: “I’m a little bit tired but I am so excited after this competition. It’s a wonderful place for a World Cup so I really enjoy it.”
Khaibullin’s opponent in the semi-final was USA’s Zach Hammer. The loss to Khaibullin meant Hammer had to win the bronze medal race against Spain’s Erik Noya Cardona who had lost to Watson.
Hammer won the affair with a 4.96s to Noya Cardona’s 5.08s, and after said: “It means so much. Obviously, I loved Denver but it was a bit unfortunate that it got rained out, so it means a lot to get a podium after doing a full round of competition.”
Full men’s qualification Speed results here
The IFSC Speed World Cup will now move on to Guiyang, China in September while Chamonix will crown the Lead medallists tomorrow.
News and updates about the event will be available on the IFSC website and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.