With the Tokyo Olympics postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, GoMatadors.com takes a moment to look back at CSUN's history at the Olympic Games. In today's Olympic Spotlight, we take a look at three-time Olympian Pam Spencer-Marquez
Â
One of the greatest high jumpers in CSUN history, Pam Spencer-Marquez is also one of the best to ever represent the United States on the national and international stage.
Â
After reaching the international stage in the high jump at age 16, Spencer-Marquez was one of the youngest members of the 1976 Olympic Team at 18. She qualified for her first Olympics when she placed third with a leap of 5-11 1/4 at the Olympic Trials. In Montreal, Spencer-Marquez would end up 27th (5-7).
Â
"Montreal was a wonderful event," Spencer-Marquez. "Being in the Olympic village with athletes from around the world was incredible. I was amazed at the cafeteria and all the different
Pam Spencer-Marquez in action.
choices. I remember standing in the cafeteria line next to the 7-2 women's basketball center from Russia and feeling tiny at 6-2. There was also a stunning East German couple. He was 6-11 and she was 6-9. I met Olga Korbut in the elevator; to me, at 18 it was a surreal environment. There was so much going on...all the time. It's hard to describe because I've never experienced anything like it. Athletes everywhere, celebrities and celebrations...it was incredible.
Â
Spencer-Marquez helped CSUN win the 1979 AIAW National Championship after finishing second at the national meet. She earned a spot on her second Olympic Team in 1980 after finishing third at the Olympic Trials. Unfortunately for Spencer-Marquez and her Olympic teammates, the United States elected to boycott the Moscow Games. Instead of an Olympic medal, she along with the entire US team was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States Congress.Â
Â
"The whole year was strange," Spencer-Marquez said. "Would we go? would we boycott? It was off and, on all year, I didn't pay attention and just tried to focus on the task at hand of making the team and let the rest worry about the details. It was heartbreaking when they finally made the decision. I considered, for a brief moment, to try and compete for England, as my mother was an English citizen and I could have gotten dual citizenship, but I was patriotic to the US and couldn't bring myself to do it. That and I may have taken a spot from an English athlete that should have gone."
Â
Spencer-Marquez won her second national championship in the high jump in 1984 and would qualify for her third Olympics by finishing second at the Olympic Trials. At the Olympic games, she tied for 11th with four other competitors.
"I was a seasoned athlete by 1984," Spencer-Marquez said. "Having the Olympics in my backyard was so fun. We had a training camp in Santa Barbara before we moved to the dorms at USC. I was able to come home for a bit of normalcy. I think the most stressful part of 1984 was that you had so many people cheering for you and I didn't want to let them down. Everyone came to watch us. I think Los Angeles put on a great show. I was very proud to be a part of it. The best part of training for the Olympics is being surrounded by like-minded individuals. When you hang out with people who are high achieving and excelling it's so motivating. We pushed each other and challenged each other. There is absolutely nothing like the Olympic Games. I am honored and blessed to have been a part of them."
Â
Pam Spencer-Marquez
Upon retiring from active competition, Spencer-Marquez moved into coaching. Spencer-Marquez was the girls' track coach at Alemany High in 1992 and 1993 after being an assistant at the Mission Hills school from 1987-91. She later coached at CSUN for five years (1991-96) and Heritage Christian High School.
Â
Internationally, she served as an assistant coach in 2015 for the USA Women's Track and Field team. In 2018 she was an assistant coach for the USA's 2018 World Indoor Championships' squad. In 2019, Spencer-Marquez moved into the head coach's role for the United States' Pan American U20 Championships team, later in 2019, she received the USATF Alumni Service award. Had the games not been canceled by the worldwide pandemic, she would have served as the head coach of the USA World Indoor Championships' team.
Â
"I have coached for so long now. I still coach high school and do private sessions, but the most fun is doing the international teams for USATF," said Spencer-Marquez. "I was supposed to be the Head Coach of the world indoors in Nanjing, China this past March when COVID hit. But helping athletes navigate competition and all the stuff that goes along with it is a blast and a huge honor to serve them."
Â
