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Amy Watt

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Amy Watt
Personal information
Born (1997-12-16) December 16, 1997 (age 26)
Palo Alto, California, United States
Alma materPomona College
Sport
Country Canada
 United States
SportParalympic athletics
Disability classT47
EventLong Jump
Achievements and titles
Personal best5.35 metres (17.6 ft)[1]
Medal record
Paralympic athletics
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Parapan American Games

Amy Watt (born December 16, 1997) is a Canadian-American former Paralympic athlete who mainly competed in the long jump in international level events. She was born missing her left arm just below the elbow due to amniotic band syndrome.[2][3] Watt competed for the United States at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[4] She competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Long jump T47 for Canada, placing fifth.[5][6][7] Watt decided to retire from international Paralympic competitions after Tokyo 2020.

Career

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Watt holds United States and Canadian dual citizenship. She was born and raised in Palo Alto, California; and her father, Jeff, is from Canada.[3] Watt competed at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto, 2015 IPC World Championships in Doha, Qatar,[8] and 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro for the United States.[9][3]

Watt competed at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru and 2019 IPC World Championships in Dubai for Canada.[10]

Watt's first foray into elite paralympics competitions was at the 2015 US Paralympics Track and Field National Championships, where she placed first in long jump and 400m, second in 100m and 200m.[3]

Watt attended Pomona College in Claremont, California.[11][12] She took a couple of years break from international competitions to focus on her education before switching to compete for Canada in 2019.[5] Watt graduated cum laude with a double major in mathematics and molecular biology and a minor in computer science in 2020.[10] After graduation, Watt embarked on her professional career as a data scientist working for Meta. In 2023, she decided to pursue graduate studies full time at the University of Washington department of biostatistics.

References

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  1. ^ "Papaconstantinou sets personal best en route to 100m bronze, 1st Paralympic medal". CBC. September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  2. ^ Mazeika, Vytas (September 21, 2016). "Rio Paralympics 'breathtaking' for Palo Alto's Amy Watt". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Reeves, Glenn (September 29, 2016). "Gunn grad Watt is looking for her next challenge". Palo Alto Online. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Guerrero, Carla (September 6, 2016). "Gunn grad Watt finds herself in Olympic spotlight at Rio". Palo Alto Online. Archived from the original on September 7, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Amy Watt". Canadian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "Canada's Para athletics team announced for Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games". Canadian Paralympic Committee. July 30, 2021. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "B.C.'s Watt places 5th in women's T47 long jump". Toronto Observer. September 3, 2021. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  8. ^ Lieberman, Stuart. "High School Senior Amy Watt Seeks First World Track Title in Doha". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  9. ^ "Amy Watt - Athletics". Paralympic Athlete Profile. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Amy Watt '20 To Compete in the 2019 Parapan Am Games in Peru". Pomona College. August 22, 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  11. ^ Guerrero, Carla. "Path to the Paralympics". Pomona College Magazine. Pomona College. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  12. ^ "Pair of Paralympians Set to Compete In Rio". Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. September 7, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
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