| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | English | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1970-05-28)28 May 1970 (age 54) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Matthew Simson (born 28 May 1970) is a male British formershot putter. He was the gold medallist in the event at the1994 Commonwealth Games, which he won with his career best throw of 19.49 m (63 ft11+1⁄4 in).
Simson was a bronze medallist at theEuropean Athletics Junior Championships in 1989 and won the silver at the1991 Summer Universiade. At senior level he represented Great Britain at the1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the1989 European Athletics Indoor Championships. He studied at theUniversity of Florida and competed for theFlorida Gators while there.
Simson began to compete in shot put as a teenager atThurrock Harriers inGrays, Essex.[1] He won the junior (under-15s) category at the 1984English Schools Championships, was the intermediate (under-17s) champion in 1986, then succeededSimon 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 theAAA 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 the1987 European Athletics Junior Championships before improving to take the bronze medal at the1989 edition.[1] He was fifth in the shot put at the1988 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 theAAA Indoor Championships with a throw of 18.21 m (59 ft8+3⁄4 in). He was also runner-up toPaul Edwards at theUK Athletics Championships and second to Simon Williams at theAAA Championships.[8][9][10] He also made his senior international debut, competing at the1989 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 theUniversity of Florida and competed athletically for theirFlorida Gators team. He placed third at theNCAA 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) inTallahassee in May and placed in the top five at theBislett Games andAthletissima meet in Europe that summer.[1] He was over nineteen metres again at the1991 Summer Universiade held inSheffield and was the silver medallist behind Soviet Union'sAleksandr 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 the1992 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 ft8+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 theSoutheastern Conference Championship title for the Florida Gators before being selected to representEngland at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.[16] At the games inVictoria, Canada, he excelled with a throw of 19.49 m (63 ft11+1⁄4 in) in the final – a career best. This meant he edgedCourtney Ireland into second to win thegold medal.[17] He completed his final year of college in Florida in 1995, with a highlight including a win at theFlorida Relays.[11]
Simson was the top Briton at the 1996British 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 beatingShaun Pickering by a margin of 19 cm.[10] He also placed fourth at theLondon 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 the1997 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]
| 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 |
