Martha Rae Watson (born August 19, 1946, in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, United States) is a retired American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete. She qualified for four Olympics, 1964–1976 in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, but also was a fast enough sprinter to be on two United States

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

teams. She picked up the individual silver medal in the long jump and the gold in the 4 x 100 relay at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...

. She was inducted into the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, b ...

in 1987. Barely after graduating from

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, she qualified for her first Olympic team. She joined Olympic teammate

Wyomia Tyus Wyomia Tyus (pronunciation: ''why-o-mi''; born August 29, 1945) is a retired American track and field sprinter, and the first person to retain the Olympic title in the 100 m (a feat since duplicated by Carl Lewis, Gail Devers, Shelly-Ann Fraser ...

in going to women's track powerhouse

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

. She was the American Indoor Champion in the Long Jump 9 times; in 1965, 1967-9 and 1972–1976. She also won three

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

, 1973-5 before losing to the high school phenom Kathy McMillan, who also went on to Tennessee State University. Watson continued competing, jumping in the USA vs USSR meet of 1979, with the goal of making the 1980 Olympic team. When President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

announced the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

, that "killed the spark." By that point in time she had already found employment dealing Blackjack at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesars P ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Watson competed toward the end of the amateur era, when athletes were not officially allowed to make money from their athletic efforts.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Martha 1946 births Living people American female sprinters American female long jumpers Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from Long Beach, California Tennessee State Lady Tigers track and field athletes Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni