Christine Rosemary Payne (née Charters; born 19 May 1933) is a British female discus thrower. She represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and won the gold medal for Scotland at the

1970 Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time ...

. She now competes under the name Rosemary Chrimes.

Early life

She was born in Kelso,

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. She attended Kelso High School and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, completing a teaching degree.

Career

She had previously competed at the international level back to the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

. At the age of 39 she competed in the 1972 Olympics. She ranked tenth in the qualification round with a distance of 55.56 m, in the final she finished 12th with a throw of 56.50 meters. Her personal best of 58.02 m dates from the same year 1972. At age 41, she took a silver medal in the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

. Also in 1974, she served as the British Junior Team Manager, supervising youngsters including

Steve Cram Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arr ...

Fatima Whitbread Fatima Whitbread (' Vedad; 3 March 1961) is a British retired javelin thrower. She broke the world record with a throw of in the qualifying round of the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, and became the first British athle ...

, Colin Jackson and Steve Backley. She competed in the

1975 World Masters Athletics Championships 1975 World Association of Veteran Athletes Championships is the first in a series of World Outdoor Championships (also called World Masters Track and Field Championships). The first international athletics (track and field) competitions for old ...

, showing her athletic versatility by winning gold in not only the Discus and

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

throwing events, but also in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. After 1978, she took a break from competing, to return ten years later at the European Veterans Championships, adding the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

to her repertoire. Her British W55 record of 9.12 m still stands. In all she has amassed 19 British age group records, including a complete sweep of Discus records from age 35 to 80, excepting the W50 division that fell during the years she was not competing. As of the start of 2014, she holds five

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

Personal life

She married

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

er and three-time Olympian Howard Payne (1931–1992), and has affiliated with the Lozells Harriers during her career. She met partner when representing Scotland in the discus at Cardiff. They married in Birmingham on 5 February 1960.''The Scotsman'' Wednesday 17 February 1960, page 20 She became the mother of twins.

References

sports-reference
1933 births Living people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish female discus throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain British female discus throwers World record holders in masters athletics British masters athletes Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Scotland Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games People educated at Kelso High School, Scotland {{Scotland-athletics-bio-stub