Julian David’s dream Olympics ended today when he was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the speed climbing.
The 19-year-old faced a daunting task, coming up against world record holder Sam Watson of the US and he was well beaten.
Watson was timed at 5.03s, slightly slower than he has been going, but David, after a good start, faltered near the end and finally touched in 5.65s.
Even so, David can look back on an Olympics in which he finished seventh in qualifying and won his elimination match against former world champion Reza Alipour Shenazandifard. He was timed at 5.24s in one qualifying effort and 5.26s in his elimination victory.
“I tried my hardest today, maybe a little too hard at the end,” he said. “The margin of error is so small when you’re going that fast…”
David said he was stoked to have made the eliminations, let alone the quarter-finals, and to come away with a PB was a bonus.
He feels he’s still improving. “I’m only 19. I’ve got longevity on my side. My goal is to give it [the Olympics] a go again.”