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Marita Payne-Wiggins (born October 7, 1960) is a Canadian former track and field athlete who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics. She is the co-Canadian record holder in the 400 metres, along with Jillian Richardson, and previously held the Canadian record in the 200 metres.
In 1980, Payne enrolled at Florida State University (FSU), where she competed for the Seminoles track and field team before graduating in 1984. Marita Payne Seminoles.com. Accessed on March 21, 2014. A 21-time NCAA , Marita Payne Nolefan.org. Accessed on March 21, 2014. she was a 400 metres national champion in 1982 and 1984; a 4 × 100 metres relay national champion in 1981, 1983, and 1984; an indoor 4 × 200 metres relay national champion in 1981; and a 4 × 400 metres relay national champion in 1983 and 1984. Payne also met her husband Mitchell Wiggins at FSU, while he played for the Seminoles basketball team.
Payne won a silver medal in the 200 metres, at the 1983 Universiade, and helped Canada win silver medals in both the 4 × 100 and 4 × 400 metre relays. That year, she also won a silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the Pan American Games. She competed in the inaugural World Championships two weeks earlier. At the championships, held in Helsinki, she finished fifth in the 400 metres – the best performance by a non-European athlete in the discipline, breaking the existing Commonwealth record with a time of 50.06. She also teamed up with her Canadian compatriots in the 4 × 100 and 4 × 400 metres relay events, where they finished fifth and fourth in the finals, respectively.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, Payne won a silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay with her teammates Charmaine Crooks, Jillian Richardson and Molly Killingbeck. She also competed with her teammates Angela Bailey, Angella Taylor-Issajenko and France Gareau in the 4 × 100 metres relay, in which the team also won a silver medal. She finished fourth in the individual 400 metres, establishing a new Canadian record (49.91).
Payne helped the Canadian 4 × 400 metres relay team win a gold medal, and finished fourth in the individual 400 metres race, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. In 1987, she won her second silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the Pan American Games. A few weeks later, she reached the semi-finals of the 400 metres at the World Championships, and along with Crooks, Killingbeck and Richardson, she took Canada to the fourth position in the 4 × 400 metres relay. The team reunited for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, but failed to finish in the relay final. She was a semi-finalist in the individual 400 metres race. Shortly after the Olympics, she retired from track and field.
The Vaughan, Ontario named a park in her honour. Marita Payne Park, located in Concord, where she was raised, is also within walking distance of her family's current residence in Vaughan.
Post career
Payne was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame in 1991. Ten years later, she was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Payne is married to former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins. Their son Andrew Wiggins was selected first overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Andrew Wiggins: Next superstar? NBADraft.net He currently plays for the Miami Heat. They have two other sons, Nick, who played basketball for the Wichita State Shockers and Mitchell II, and three daughters: Stephanie, Angelica, and Taya. Since 2002, the family has resided in Vaughan.
Achievements
1979 Pan American Games San Juan, Puerto Rico 3rd 4 × 400 m 3:37.60 World Cup Montreal 4th 400 m 53.01 5th 4 × 400 m 3:28.50 1981 World Cup Rome, Italy 3rd 4 × 400 m 3:26.42 1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia semi-final 400 m 54.06 2nd 4 × 100 m 43.66 1983 Universiade (World Student Games) Edmonton, Canada 2nd 200 m 22.62 2nd 4 × 100 m 43.21 2nd 4 × 400 m 3:25.26 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 5th 400 m 50.06 5th 4 × 100 m 43.05 4th 4 × 400 m 3:27.57 Pan American Games Caracas, Venezuela 2nd 4 × 400 m 3:30.24 1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 4th 400 m 49.91 2nd 4 × 100 m 42.77 2nd 4 × 400 m 3:21.21 1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, Scotland 4th 400 m 52.00 1st 4 × 400 m 3:28.92 1987 Pan American Games Indianapolis, United States 2nd 4 × 400 m 3:29.18 World Championships Rome, Italy semi-final 400 m 51.75 4th 4 × 400 m 3:24.11 1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea semi-final 400 m 50.29 DNF 4 × 400 m 3:27.63 (in heat)
See also
External links
Categories: 1960 Births, Living People, Track And Field Athletes From Toronto, Athletes At The 1979 Pan American Games, Athletes At The 1982 Commonwealth Games, Athletes At The 1986 Commonwealth Games, Athletes At The 1983 Pan American Games, Athletes At The 1987 Pan American Games, Athletes At The 1984 Summer Olympics, Athletes At The 1988 Summer Olympics, Barbadian Emigrants To Canada, Black Canadian Track And Field Athletes, Canadian Female Sprinters, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallists For Canada, Commonwealth Games Silver Medallists For Canada, Florida State Seminoles Women's Track And Field Athletes, Florida State University Alumni, Medalists At The 1984 Summer Olympics, Olympic Silver Medalists For Canada, Olympic Track And Field Athletes For Canada, Pan American Games Silver Medalists For Canada In Athletics, Pan American Games Bronze Medalists For Canada In Athletics, World Athletics Championships Athletes For Canada, Sportspeople From Christ Church, Barbados, Sportspeople From Vaughan, Black Canadian Sportswomen, Olympic Silver Medalists In Athletics, Universiade Medalists In Athletics, Fisu World University Games Silver Medalists For Canada, Medalists At The 1983 Summer Universiade, Medalists At The 1979 Pan American Games, Medalists At The 1987 Pan American Games, Olympic Female Sprinters, Medallists At The 1982 Commonwealth Games, Medallists At The 1986 Commonwealth Games, Canadian Track And Field Championships Winners, Vaughan Road Academy Alumni, Ncaa Division I Outdoor Track And Field Championships Winners, 20th-century Canadian Sportswomen, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallists In Athletics, Commonwealth Games Silver Medallists In Athletics
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