Anthony Watson
Personal information
NationalityJamaican, American
Born (1989-11-05) 5 November 1989
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Sport
SportSkeleton

Anthony Watson (born 5 November 1989) is an American-born skeleton racer who competed on behalf of Jamaica in the 2018 Winter Olympics, becoming the first athlete to represent the Caribbean nation in the winter sport.[1]

Biography

Born and raised in Vineland, New Jersey, he is the son of Basil and Gloria Watson.[2][3] Watson attended Cumberland Christian School, from which he graduated in 2008.[2] He attended Roberts Wesleyan College before transferring to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and had competed in track in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay at the junior level until an injury prevented him from advancing to the top levels of competition in track and field.[1][3]

Watson found the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation after checking out the tryout pages for every sport in which the United States was represented in international competition and chose skeleton after seeing a series of videos.[3] An aspiring Olympian from the time he was a child, Watson participated for three years in the American training program for bobsled and skeleton, but "left on peaceful terms".[2] Given that his father had been born in Jamaica, Watson was eligible to compete on behalf of his father's native country. Ranked 79th in the world based on his competition results,[4] his qualification standards with the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation were not sufficient for him to be eligible to receive one of the 30 guaranteed berths granted for male competitors to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, but Watson was given the final slot to represent Jamaica after nations with individuals who had better times turned down spots, making him the first athlete from Jamaica to compete in skeleton.[2]

With finishing times of 53.13, 54.04 and 53.35 seconds in the Olympic skeleton competition, Watson finished in 29th place in each of the three first heats. His top speed was 75.4 miles per hour (121.3 km/h), reached during the first heat. His total time in the three heats of 2:40.52 meant that he did not qualify for the final race; he placed him almost 10 seconds behind Yun Sung-bin of South Korea, who went on to win the gold medal.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Athlete Profile: Anthony Watson". PyeongChang2018.com. PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 2018-04-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Coppola, Anthony V. "Vineland native to compete in Winter Olympics", The Daily Journal (New Jersey), February 5, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2018. "Anthony Watson was content knowing he'd miss the Philadelphia Eagles play in Super Bowl LII. After all, Watson, a Vineland native and 2008 Cumberland Christian graduate, had a decent excuse for missing the big game on Sunday.... Watson, 28, is set to represent Jamaica in the Winter Olympics as the country's first-ever skeleton competitor."
  3. 1 2 3 Team Archived 2019-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, Jamaica national bobsleigh team. Accessed February 21, 2018. "Anthony Watson was born on November 5, 1989 in Vineland, New Jersey. He participated in soccer, basketball and track and field while at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York.... After an injury slowed his times drastically, his dream of pursuing track and field seemed unreachable."
  4. ↑ Quota Allocation PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games 2018 – Men's Skeleton - IBSF 14 January 2018 Archived 16 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. Accessed February 21, 2018.
  5. ↑ Skeleton Men Official Results February 16, 2018, International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. Accessed February 21, 2018.
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