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Matt Simson
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
Born (1970-05-28) 28 May 1970 (age 54)
Sport
SportAthletics
Medal record
Athletics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1994 Victoria Shot put

Matthew Simson (born 28 May 1970) is a male British former shot putter. He was the gold medallist in the event at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, which he won with his career best throw of 19.49 m (63 ft 11+1⁄4 in).

Simson was a bronze medallist at the European Athletics Junior Championships in 1989 and won the silver at the 1991 Summer Universiade. At senior level he represented Great Britain at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 1989 European Athletics Indoor Championships. He studied at the University of Florida and competed for the Florida Gators while there.

Career

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Simson began to compete in shot put as a teenager at Thurrock Harriers in Grays, Essex.[1] He won the junior (under-15s) category at the 1984 English Schools Championships, was the intermediate (under-17s) champion in 1986, then succeeded Simon Williams to the under-19s English Schools' title in 1987.[2] He established himself as the top young shot putter of his generation, winning four straight titles at the AAA Junior Championships and three straight AAA Junior Indoor titles.[3][4] He set national indoor age bests for 16-year-olds in 1987 and 17-year-olds in 1988.[5] In international competition he placed seventh at the 1987 European Athletics Junior Championships before improving to take the bronze medal at the 1989 edition.[1] He was fifth in the shot put at the 1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics.[6]

Growing to a height of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m),[7] Simson established himself at senior level in the 1989 season. That year he was the winner at the AAA Indoor Championships with a throw of 18.21 m (59 ft 8+3⁄4 in). He was also runner-up to Paul Edwards at the UK Athletics Championships and second to Simon Williams at the AAA Championships.[8][9][10] He also made his senior international debut, competing at the 1989 European Athletics Indoor Championships where he came in eleventh place. He improved his personal best to 18.52 m (60 ft 9 in) in 1990.[11]

He began studying in the United States at the University of Florida and competed athletically for their Florida Gators team. He placed third at the NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship in 1991, throwing a best of 18.98 m (62 ft 3 in). He achieved a new best of 19.23 m (63 ft 1 in) in Tallahassee in May and placed in the top five at the Bislett Games and Athletissima meet in Europe that summer.[1] He was over nineteen metres again at the 1991 Summer Universiade held in Sheffield and was the silver medallist behind Soviet Union's Aleksandr Klimenko.[12] He was second to Paul Edwards at both the AAA and UK Championships that year.[9][10]

He missed most of the 1992 season, bar a pair of third-place finishes at the AAA Championships and the 1992 European Athletics U23 Cup.[10][13] He returned in 1993, starting with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor meet.[14] His best throw that year was 18.50 m (60 ft 8+1⁄4 in) at the Bislett Games in Norway.[15] He resumed his position as runner-up behind Edwards at the UK Championships but managed to defeat his national rival at the AAA Championships, taking his first senior title at the event.[9][10]

The 1994 season marked the peak of Simson's career. He won the Southeastern Conference Championship title for the Florida Gators before being selected to represent England at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.[16] At the games in Victoria, Canada, he excelled with a throw of 19.49 m (63 ft 11+1⁄4 in) in the final – a career best. This meant he edged Courtney Ireland into second to win the gold medal.[17] He completed his final year of college in Florida in 1995, with a highlight including a win at the Florida Relays.[11]

Simson was the top Briton at the 1996 British Grand Prix, placing third overall with a season's best of 18.95 m (62 ft 2 in).[18] He claimed the second AAA title of his career by beating Shaun Pickering by a margin of 19 cm.[10] He also placed fourth at the London Grand Prix that year.[1] In 1997 his best efforts came indoors. After an indoor career best of 19.41 m (63 ft 8 in) in Florida,[11] he won the UK trials to qualify for the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships.[19] He failed to follow up on his Commonwealth success, however, and was eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the global tournament.[6] Outdoors he was runner-up at the UK Championships to Shaun Pickering – the contest marked the first time two athletes had thrown over nineteen metres at the competition.[9] This proved to be his last major outing at national level and he retired from professional athletics in 1998.[1]

Personal bests

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  • Shot put outdoor – 19.49 m (63 ft 11+1⁄4 in) (1994)
  • Shot put indoor – 19.41 m (63 ft 8 in) (1997)

National titles

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International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing the  United Kingdom and  England
1987 European Junior Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 7th Shot put 16.49 m
1988 World Junior Championships Greater Sudbury, Canada 5th Shot put 17.11 m
1989 European Junior Championships Varaždin, Croatia 3rd Shot put 18.11 m
European Indoor Championships The Hague, Netherlands 11th Shot put 17.38 m
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 9th Shot put 16.89 m
1991 Universiade Sheffield, United Kingdom 2nd Shot put 19.07 m
1992 European Athletics U23 Cup Gateshead, United Kingdom 3rd Shot put 18.22 m
1994 Commonwealth Games Victoria, Canada 1st Shot put 19.49 m
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 20th Shot put 18.30 m

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Matt Simon. Power of 10. Retrieved on 30 November 2014.
  2. ^ English Schools Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 30 November 2014.
  3. ^ AAA Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  4. ^ AAA Junior Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  5. ^ United Kingdom Indoor Age Best Performances. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  6. ^ a b Matt Simson Honours. IAAF. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  7. ^ Reid, Ron (23 April 1993). Three-way Battle Looms In The Men's 400 Hurdles Torrence Zellner, Octavius Terry And Jordan Gray Have Histories That Make Them Tough To Separate.. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  8. ^ a b AAA Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d UK Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  10. ^ a b c d e f AAA Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  11. ^ a b c Matt Simson. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  12. ^ World Student Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  13. ^ Sport in Short: Athletics. The Independent (20 July 1992). Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  14. ^ 1993 NCAA Indoor Championships. USC Track and Field. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  15. ^ Matt Simon Progression. IAAF. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  16. ^ Texas A&M men win first SEC title; Arkansas takes women's championship. NCAA (18 May 2014). Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  17. ^ Commonwealth Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  18. ^ 1995 British Athletics Grand Prix. Power of 10. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
  19. ^ UK Indoor Trials. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 1 December 2014.
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