Ruth Martin-Jones (also known as Ruth Swinhoe and Ruth Howell, born 28 January 1947) is a former long jumper and heptathlete.

Early life

She is from

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

and attended the University of Birmingham, taking a French PhD. By 1972 she was teaching in

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

Career

She competed for Great Britain 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. ...

in Munich, finishing 28th in the long jump event. She was the first Welsh women to compete at the Olympic Games. At the

1974 British 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 ...

in Christchurch, she won a bronze medal competing for Wales. Her jump was equal to silver medalist

Brenda Eisler Brenda Lee Eisler (born October 16, 1951 in Calgary, Alberta) is a retired long jumper from Canada. She took home a bronze medal from the Pacific Conference Games in 1969. She won the gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games, and competed for he ...

, but Eisler had a better second jump. She also competed at the

1970 British 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 tim ...

in Edinburgh, and the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

in Edmonton. In 1978, Martin-Jones won the first

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

event in the world at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. In 2016, Martin-Jones was inducted into the Welsh Athletics Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Sports Reference
* 1947 births Martin-Jones Alumni of the University of Birmingham Martin-Jones Sportspeople from Oswestry Marin-Jones Martin-Jones Martin-Jones Martin-Jones Martin-Jones Martin-Jones Martin-Jones Martin-Jones Martin-Jones Martin-Jones Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games People from Criccieth {{Wales-athletics-bio-stub

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links