MATSON, RANDY

born March 5, 1945, Kilgore, Texas, U.S. byname of James Randel Matson American shot-putter who, in 1965, became the first man to put the shot more than 21 m, with a distance of 21.52 m (70 feet 7.25 inches). Matson's weight-throwing ability was recognized when he was in the eighth grade by the high school coach of Pampa, Texas, who went on to train him to state high school records in both the shot put and discus. After his freshman year at Texas A & M University (College Station), he won the silver medal in the shot put at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. AT the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, he won the gold medal with a put of 20.54 m. He also won United States Track and Field Association shot-put titles (196971), but he did not make the U.S. Olympic team in 1972. He bettered his 1965 record in 1967 with a put of 21.78 m and won the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's outstanding amateur athlete of 1967. Matson was later executive director of a booster club at West Texas State University (Canyon).