Ann Wilson

Southend’s Ann Wilson had an outstanding junior career, which started while she was a pupil at Thorpe Hall Junior School before joining Southend AC at the age of 11, and in 1963 she won the first of five English Schools’ titles (high jump). Between then and 1965, when she made her senior England international début, she also won seven WAAA junior titles at high hurdles, high jump, and long jump. Wilson went to the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Kingston Jamaica as a 16-year-old and reached the 80 metres hurdles final, and finished seventh and ninth respectively in the high jump and long jump.

Wilson went to two further Commonwealth Games, winning three silver medals (high jump, long jump, and pentathlon) at Edinburgh in 1970 and a pentathlon bronze medal four years later. Sadly, despite competing at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, she could not emulate her Commonwealth Games successes and failed to win a medal. When Wilson went to the Mexico Games it was just a month after leaving Southend Grammar School for Girls. One of her team-mates in Mexico was Mary Green, Wilson´s PE teacher at school.

Wilson did, however, enjoy many great wins on home soil. Between 1966-74 she won 12 Southern Counties titles at high hurdles (1966, 1970-72), pentathlon (1966-68), and long jump (1967-68, 1970-71, 1974). She also won five WAAA indoor titles at long jump (1970), 60m hurdles (1971-72), and high jump (1971, 1974). The records also show that Wilson won two senior WAAA titles (both pentathlon) in 1971 and 1974, but she was also the long jump champion in 1967 and 1970 after finishing second, and being the highest placed UK athlete, behind Berit Berthelsen (Norway) and Ingrid Mickler-Becker (West Germany), respectively.

Ann married Southend plumber John Simmonds in 1975 and ten years later married her second husband Phillip Sargent. Their daughter Lucy was a leading junior athlete and took part in the World Junior Championships at Beijing in 2006. Wilson retired from top-class athletics at the age of 28.

Personal Bests: 80H – 10.8 (1967); 100H – 13.53 (1972); LJ – 6.56 (1970); Pen68 – 4841 (1968); Pen72 – 4433 (1972).