John Watts (athlete)

John Watts

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	(1939-04-23) 23 April 1939 (age 86)
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	110 kg (243 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Discus throw
Club	Blackheath Harriers

John Thomas Watts (born 23 April 1939) is a British former athlete who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. ^[1]

Biography

Watts began his athletics career with Holbeach AC but after joining the Royal Navy switched to Blackheath Harriers. Watts finished second behind Bill Tancred in the discus throw event at the 1967 AAA Championships ^{[2] [3]} and then followed this up with two third place finishes behind Tancred at both the 1968 AAA Championships and 1970 AAA Championships. ^[4]

Watts finally became the British discus throw champion at the 1971 AAA Championships by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete behind New Zealander Les Mills. ^[5]

Despite another second place finish behind his nemesis Bill Tancred at the 1972 AAA Championships he represented Great Britain at the 1972 Olympics Games in Munich finishing 24th in the men's discus throw. ^[6]

Watts became a Masters athlete, winning the 2018 World Masters Athletics Championships.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "John Watts Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
2. "White City results" . Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 16 July 1967. Retrieved 10 May 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "British hopes take a beating as German ace turns on the heat" . Daily Mirror. 15 July 1967. Retrieved 10 May 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
5. "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
6. "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 May 2025.