Samantha Watson

Last updated
Samantha Watson
2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships (28891547008) (cropped).jpg
Watson in 2018
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1999-11-10) November 10, 1999 (age 24)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
Education Temple University
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event(s) 800 metres, Mile
College team Texas A&M '19
Rush-Henrietta Senior High School 2017
Turned pro2019
Coached byDerek Thompson
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)400 m: 52.69 (2015)
800 m: 2:00.36 (2023)
1500 m: 4:21.45 (2018)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
IAAF World U20 Championships
2018 Tampere 800 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Bydgoszcz 4x400 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Bydgoszcz 800 m
IAAF World U18 Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Cali 800 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Cali M4x400 m

Samantha "Sammy" Watson (born November 10, 1999) is an American middle-distance runner from New York.

Contents

Career

Watson placed fourth in 800 m in 2:04.11 at 2020 USA Track & Field Indoor Championships. [1]

Watson placed sixth in 800 at 2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa in a time of 2:01.70. [2] [3]

Watson placed 11th in 800 meters at 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships – Women's 800 metres in Tampere, Finland in a time of 2:03.95.

Watson placed first in 800 meters at 2018 USA U20 Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Bloomington, Indiana in a time of 2:01.46.

Sammy Watson finished sixth on Sunday, June 25, 2017 in the 800 meters at the United States National Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, California. [4]

A time of 2:43.18 at 1,000 meters, set at altitude during the prelims 2017 USATF Indoor Championships held in Albuquerque, bettered the national high school record of 2:43.43 set in 2005 by Sarah Brown. In the final she lowered the record to 2:40.72 in placing fourth among a field of professional athletes. [5]

Sammy Watson's 800 meters mark broke the 1974 national record of 2:01.8 set by Mary Decker and it is also the U.S. Junior record. Video: Sammy Watson After Running 2:01.78 800 to Break Mary Decker's HS Record. [6]

International accolades for Sammy Watson include winning gold-medal as a 2016 World junior title in the 800 meters while and running on the gold-medal 4x400 relay. [7] Watson made her second Team USA in Clovis, California at USA Junior (U20) Outdoor Track and Field Championships winning the 800 meters title in a time of 2:02.91. [8]

In 2015, she was the World youth champion in the 800 meters. Watson was 15 when she claimed the World Youth 800m title in 2:03.54 after winning 2015 USA Junior Olympics 15-16 year old 800 meters title in a time of 2:08.73 and 15-16 year old 400 meters title in a time of 54.31 in Jacksonville, Florida. [9]

Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
IAAF Championships
2018 2018 IAAF World Junior (U20) Championships 11th 800 m 2:03.95
2016 2016 IAAF World Junior (U20) Championships 1st 800 m 2:04.52
1st 4x400 m 3:29.11
2015 2015 IAAF World Youth (U18) Championships 1st800 m2:03.54
1st Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay 3:19.54
USA Track and Field Championships
Representing Adidas
2023 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships 7th800 m2:02.07
2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships 6th800 m2:03.04
2022 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships 10th800 m2:00.90
2022 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships 6th800 m2:03.92
2021 2020 United States Olympic Trials 31st800 m2:03.83
2020 2020 USA Track & Field Indoor Championships 4th800 m2:04.11
2019 2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships [10] 6th800 m2:01.70
Representing Texas A&M University
2018 USA Junior (U20) Outdoor Track and Field Championships [11] 1st800 m2:01.46
Representing Rush-Henrietta High School
2017 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships [12] 6th800 m2:00.99
2017 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships [13] 4th1000 m2:40.72
2016 USA Junior (U20) Outdoor Track and Field Championships [14] 1st800 m2:02.91
2015 USA Junior (U18) Outdoor Track and Field Championships [15] 1st800 m2:01.46
2014 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships [16] 3rd400 m54.94
2nd800 m2:06.35

NCAA

Watson placed first in 800 meters in a time of 2:04.21 at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Watson placed first in 800 meters in a time of 2:03.37 at the 2018 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Watson placed third in 800 in a time of 2:02.65 at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in College Station, Texas after winning her first title in the 800 m at 2018 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Watson ran on the 4th place Distance medley relay at Southeastern Conference final. Watson ran a time of 2:42.12 in the 1,000m which ranks seventh on the collegiate indoor all-time list and bettered the Texas A&M University school record of 2:43.15 set last season by Jasmine Fray. Texas A&M's Sammy Watson anchored the Aggie distance medley relay to a school and meet record of 11:12.06 to win the event at the Ted Nelson Invitational. [17]

Representing Texas A&M University
Year Southeastern Conference
Indoor track and field
Championships
NCAA
Indoor
Championships
Southeastern Conference
Outdoor track and field
Championships
NCAA Division I
Outdoor track and field
Championships
2018800 m 1st
2:04.25
800 m 3rd
2:02.65
800 m 1st
2:03.37
800 m 1st
2:04.21
DMR 4th
11:21.86
4x400 m 5th
3:29.61

[18]

Prep

In the 800m, Watson's 2:00.65 ranks third all-time in United States high school and she also produced five of the top 10 all-time performances. Watson's career best times by Watson from her high school career include 52.69 (400 meters), 1:27.13 (600 meters indoors), 2:00.65 (800 meters), 4:22.09 (1,500 meters) and 4:47.49 (mile indoors). In 2017 indoor season, Watson established national high school records at 600 meters (1:27.13), 800 meters (2:01.78) and 1,000 meters (2:40.72 A). [19]

In the 2017 outdoor track season, Watson placed 5th in a time of 55.90 in 400 meters and 2nd in one mile invitational section in 4:47.72 at Arcadia Invitational in April 2017, [20] ran 2:01.47 placed 3rd behind 1:59.87 winner Charlene Lipsey and runner up Chrishuna Williams in 800 meters at Prefontaine Classic in May 2017, [21] placed 2nd in a time of 2:00.78 behind 1:59.57 winner Charlene Lipsey in 800 meters on June 2 at Adidas Boost Boston Games, [22] and won 800 meters title in a time of 2:05.70 at 2017 New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Aggie Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina on June 18, 2017 (1 week before USA Outdoor in Sacramento, California).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geena Gall</span> American middle-distance runner

Geena Gall, is an Olympic American mid-distance runner who ran for the University of Michigan. Gall's achievements include back to back NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800m in 2008 and 2009, representing the USA at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany in the 800m. She also competed at the North American Central American Caribbean Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador in 2007 and Toluca, Mexico in 2008. Gall was a member of the "Fab Four" who set two collegiate records at the 2007 Penn Relays, a ten-time NCAA All-American, owning two Big Ten 800 meter records and two DMR records, 10 Big Ten championships, numerous U of M school records, and at Grand Blanc High School she was a three-time national champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Rowbury</span> American middle-distance runner

Shannon Solares-Rowbury is an American middle-distance runner from San Francisco, California. After competing collegiately for Duke University, she turned professional in 2007. Rowbury has represented the United States at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. She also represented the United States at the World Championships in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, winning the bronze medal in the 1500 meters in 2009. In 2015, Rowbury helped set the world record with the U.S. team for the distance medley relay event, and set a then-American record for 1500 meters on July 17, 2015, breaking Mary Slaney's 32 year-old mark with a time of 3:56.29.

Morgan Uceny is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in middle distance running. Uceny won three national championships and was the 2011 IAAF Diamond League Champion at 1500 meters. She ended 2011 as the first American since 1985 to be ranked number one in the world in the 1500 m by Track & Field News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Day-Monroe</span> American heptathlete and high jumper

Sharon Day-Monroe is an American heptathlete, pentathlete and high jumper. She is the 2011, 2013, and 2014 national heptathlon champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ajeé Wilson</span> American middle-distance runner

Ajeé Wilson is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meters. She is the 2022 World indoor champion at the 800 meter distance, after earning silver medals in 2016 and 2018. Wilson won bronze medals at both the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships. She is the second-fastest American of all time in the event with a time of 1m 55.61s, and she holds North American indoor record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chanelle Price</span> American middle-distance runner

Chanelle Price is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800-meter run. She has a personal record of 1:59.10 for the distance. She was the gold medalist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexa Efraimson</span> American middle-distance runner

Alexa Efraimson is an American former professional middle distance runner from Camas, Washington who competed for Nike. Efraimson is training and in graduate school to become a Registered Dietitian in 2022-24. During the 2014 indoor and outdoor season, as a junior, she set a pair of U.S. high-school records, breaking Mary Cain's 2013 mark in the indoor 3,000 meters (9:02.10) with a time of 9:00.16 and running 4:33.29 in the 1,600 meters to shave 0.53 seconds from Christine Babcock's 4:33.82, set in 2008. Efraimson captured the bronze medal in the 1,500 meters at the 2013 World (U18) Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Torrence (athlete)</span> Peruvian-American middle-distance runner

David Torrence was a Peruvian-American middle-distance runner and indoor American record holder in the 1000 meters (active). Born in Okinawa, Japan, Torrence was raised in Tarzana, California. After graduating from Loyola High School in 2003, he went on to run for the University of California, Berkeley and Hoka One One. Torrence represented Peru at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory McGee</span> American middle-distance runner, Olympian

Cory Ann McGee is an American professional middle distance runner and Olympian from Pass Christian, Mississippi. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games she finished 12th in the 1500-meters. She was the 2011 Pan American U20 Champion and 2011 USA Juniors Outdoor Champion in the 1500-meters. In May 2022 she ran a personal best of 4:00.34 in the 1500-meters to move to 16th place on the US fastest all-time list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clayton Murphy</span> American middle-distance runner

Clayton Murphy is an American middle-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 800-meter run at the 2016 Olympic Games. He was the gold medalist in the 800-meter run at the 2015 Pan American Games. He ran collegiately for the University of Akron, before signing with Nike in June 2016 and joining the Nike Oregon Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandi Morris</span> American pole vaulter

Sandi Morris is an American pole vault record holder. She won the silver medal in the pole vault event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She also won silver at the pole vault event at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and another silver at the 2019 World Championships in Athletics. In 2018 she won gold at the World Indoor Championships. Morris has a personal best vault of 4.95 m indoor, set on March 12, 2016, in Portland, Oregon. She matched this height at the 2018 World Indoor Champships when setting a new championship record. July 23, 2016, Morris cleared 4.93 m at American Track League in Houston at Rice University breaking Jennifer Suhr's American outdoor record in the pole vault. Morris cleared 5.00 m at 2016 IAAF Diamond League Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on September 9, 2016, to set the U.S. women's outdoor pole vault record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Grace</span> American middle-distance runner

Kate Grace is an American middle-distance runner. A multiple All-American runner for Yale University, she turned professional in 2011. Grace competed for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, making it to the final of the 800 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raevyn Rogers</span> American middle-distance runner

Raevyn Rogers is an American middle-distance athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the fourth fastest woman in U.S. history in the event. At the 2019 World Championships, Rogers came from seventh with 100m remaining in the race to place silver over USA teammate Ajeé Wilson in bronze. She earned a world indoor title as a member of national 4x400 m relay squad that took gold at the 2018 World Indoor Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Roesler</span> American middle-distance runner

Laura Roesler is an American middle distance runner who specializes in the 800 metres. She is currently coached by Rose Monday and based in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donavan Brazier</span> American middle-distance runner

Donavan Brazier is an American middle-distance runner. He holds the American junior record and American record in men's 800 meters and won the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney Frerichs</span> American middle-distance runner, steeplechase specialist (born 1993)

Courtney Frerichs is an American middle-distance runner and steeplechase specialist from Nixa, Missouri, She is a three-time silver medalist in the 3000 meters steeplechase capturing silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the 2017 World Championships in London and at the 2018 World (Continental) Cup in Ostrava. In 2021, she became the first American woman to run under nine-minutes in a women’s 3000-meters steeplechase event with a time of 8:57.77; establishing an American and Area record. She is a two-time Olympian making the US team in 2016 and 2020. In both of her Olympic Trials she finished second to US National Champion, Emma Coburn.

Shaquille Walker is an American retired track runner competing for the United States and a former Brigham Young University track student-athlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Piccirillo</span>

Angel Piccirillo is a middle-distance track runner and multiple time NCAA Division I All-American in cross country and Track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Hoppel</span> American middle-distance runner (born 1997)

Bryce Hoppel is an American middle-distance runner, who is a member of the 2020 U.S. Olympic track team for the 800 meters. He holds the American indoor record in the 1000 meters. Hoppel attended the University of Kansas. Hoppel had a breakout junior year at Kansas, where he won 21 consecutive races between the indoor and outdoor season, including two NCAA Individual Championships in the 800 meters. Hoppel's 21 race streak came to an end when Hoppel finished 3rd at the 2019 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, qualifying for the 2019 World Championships in Athletics.

References

  1. "In Chestnut Hill, world class runners are training for the Olympics". March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  2. "Ajee Wilson dashes to gold in women's 800 at 2019 USATF Outdoor Championships - NBC Sports". YouTube . July 28, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  3. "Thankful for a healthy and strong race tonight😊 2:01.7 for 6th place. this is just the beginning for young rookie Sammy WATSON #adidasrunning". July 28, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  4. "Samantha Watson Finishes Sixth At The USATF Championships Billy Cvecko". June 25, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  5. "Sammy Watson Obliterates 1K National Record By Three Seconds". FloTrack. March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  6. "Ajee' Wilson smashes American indoor 800m record, earns USATF Athlete of the Week". February 17, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  7. "24 JUL 2016 REPORT BYDGOSZCZ, POLAND REPORT: WOMEN'S 4X400M – IAAF WORLD U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS BYDGOSZCZ 2016" . Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  8. "2016 USATF Junior National Championship Results - 6/24/2016 to 6/26/2016 Buchanan's Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis CA; 1560 N Minnewawa". http://www.legacy.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2016/USATF-Junior-Outdoor-Track---Field-Championships/Live-Results.aspx. June 25, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  9. "2015 USATF JO National Championship Results - 7/27/2015 to 8/2/2015 University of Florida Hodges Stadium". August 2, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  10. "2019 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Results - Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships - Drake Stadium - Drake University Des Moines, Iowa July 25-28". July 28, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  11. "2018WOMEN'S 800M FINAL - USATF JUNIOR OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". June 25, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  12. "2017 USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships Results - 6/22/2017 to 6/25/2017 Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, California". June 25, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  13. "2017 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships Results - 3/3/2017 Albuquerque Convention Center". March 3, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  14. "2016 USA Junior Championships Results - 6/24/2016 to 6/26/2016 Veteran's Memorial Stadium - Clovis, California". June 26, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  15. "2015 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championship Young Women 800 m Final - Benedictine University - Lisle, IL". July 1, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  16. "2014 UATF JO National Championship Results - 7/21/2014 to 7/27/2014 Turner Stadium, Humble, TX". July 27, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  17. "SEC Track and Field Weekly Honors". Southeastern Conference. January 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  18. "Sammy Watson Texas A&M track - cross country results - Track and Field Results Reporting System". TFRRS. August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  19. "ALL-USA Watch: Sammy Watson breaks national record in 1k twice". USA Today. March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  20. "2017 Arcadia Invitational Results". Athletic.net. April 8, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  21. "Prefontaine Classic Results - 5/26/2017 to 5/27/2017 Hayward Field, EUGENE - USA". Preclassic.Runnerspace.com. May 27, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  22. "2017 Adidas Boost Boston Games Results". Adidas Boost Boston Games & Prime Time Timing (pttiming.com). June 2, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.