Mitchell Watt

Mitchell Watt (born 25 March 1988) is an Australian track & field athlete. His main event is the long jump and holds the current Oceania record for the long jump – 8.54m. He was the first ever Australian long jump medalist at a World Championship and was the silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[1][2]

This article is about an athlete. For the basketball player, see Mitchell Watt (basketball). For the South African physician and author, see John Mitchell Watt.

Mitchell Watt
Watt at the 2011 World championships Athletics in Daegu.
Personal information
Born (1988-03-25) 25 March 1988
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight83 kg (183 lb)
Sport
Country Australia
SportAthletics
Event(s)Long jump
Achievements and titles
Highest world rankingWorld Number 1
Personal best(s)8.54m
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2012 LondonLong jump
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2011 DaeguLong jump
Bronze medal – third place2009 BerlinLong jump
World Indoor Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Doha Long jump
Updated on 15 August 2012.

Early life

Track and Field

Watt started his athletics career very early and first started getting attention as a schoolboy at Brisbane Boys College, a prestigious private high school in Queensland. As a 13-year-old he competed in the GPS 100 m, 200 m, 400 m relay, 100 m relay, long jump, high jump, triple jump, shot put and discus, winning all of his events bar discus with a respectable 4th.

As a junior, he won the All-schools nationals in 1999 (long jump), 2000 (long jump), 2001 (long jump [national record], triple jump [national record] and 100 m).[3]

Rugby Union and Australian Football

Watt took an interest in Australian Football and Rugby Union in his later years of high school. He proved extremely versatile successful in both codes. In Australian Football he won two State Championships during high-school playing as ruckman.

In Rugby Union, he played in the outside backs and was vice-captain of the 1st XV. He was a member of the State team (Queensland Schoolboys squad), a team which several current Australian Wallabies played in.[3]

Career

Long Jump

Watt's first major championship was the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin where he won a bronze medal with a jump of 8.37.[4] He backed this up with another bronze medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha.

He won the 2011 Australian long jump title with a personal best of 8.44 m, setting a stadium record at the Melbourne Olympic Park Stadium with the final jump of the final competition that was held at the venue.[5]

Watt won silver at the World Championships in Daegu, with a jump of 8.33 m in an interesting competition where the winning jumps were made in the second round of jumping. The top three jumpers failed to improve on their first and second round jumps.

He won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[6]

Diamond League

Watt was the 2011 Diamond League Trophy winner for the long jump, picking up the $40,000 bonus.[7] He won in Shanghai, London, and also Stockholm where he set the Australian record, and had already secured victory before the Final in Zurich. He is the first and only Australian to ever win a Diamond League Trophy. He also finished the 2011 season with the longest 4 out of 5 jumps in the world.[8]

Stadium records

Watt currently holds the following stadium/meeting records in the world:

  • Shanghai (Shanghai Stadium, China) - 8.44m
  • London (Crystal Palace Stadium) - 8.45m
  • Rethymno (Vardinoyannia, Greece) - 8.43m
  • Melbourne (Olympic Park, Australia) - 8.44m
  • New York (Icahn Stadium, United States of America) - 8.16m

Endorsements

Watt has proven popular with global sponsors. He has signed endorsements with Adidas, Powerade, Omega, Mitsubishi and Coles Supermarkets.

Personal life

Watt obtained his double degree in Law / Economics from University of Queensland and now he currently resides in New York where he is a management consultant.[9]

Notes and references
  1. Dan Silkstone, Berlin (23 August 2009). "We see the future of athletics ... and it's 21 years old". The Age. Australia. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  2. "Mitch Watt Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  3. "Mitchell Watt". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  4. "Student Mitchell Watt finds fame after one giant leap". The Australian. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  5. Johnson, Len (17 April 2011). Watt leaps 8.44m, Pearson scores triple victory as curtain falls on Melbourne's Olympic Park. IAAF. Retrieved on 23 April 2011.
  6. "Greg Rutherford wins Olympic long jump gold for Great Britain". BBC Sport. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  7. "Welcome to the Diamond Race, Points & Prize Money". Diamondleague.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  8. "2011 Toplists lj m - o". iaaf.org. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  9. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchell-watt-61800221/
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