Vashti Cunningham

Vashti Cunningham
Personal information
Nationality American
Born (1998-01-18) January 18, 1998
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight 122 lb (55 kg)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event(s) High jump
Club Nevada Gazelles
Turned pro 2016
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) High jump outdoor: 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) (Edmonton 2015)
High jump indoor: 1.99 m (6 ft 6 1⁄4 in) (USA 2016)
Medal record
World Indoor Championships
2016 Portland High jump
Pan American Junior Championships
2015 Edmonton High jump

Vashti Cunningham (born January 18, 1998)[2] is an American track and field athlete specializing in the high jump. She is the daughter of retired National Football League (NFL) quarterback Randall Cunningham, niece of retired NFL fullback Sam Cunningham, and the younger sister of Randall Cunningham II. Her mother was a ballerina with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.[3] Vashti, like her brother two years ahead of her in school, jumped for Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada until March 2016 when she signed with Nike. She announced she will continue her education at a university while competing as a professional athlete.[4]

On April 18, 2015, at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California, Cunningham jumped 1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄4 in),[5] to set the pending new national high school record. At age 17, that was also equal to the #4 world Youth mark (under 19 years old).[6] At that date it was the #3 mark in the world in 2015.[7] She was named USATF Athlete of the Week for that performance.[8] On June 27, 2015 she won the U.S. Junior National Championship.[9] A month later at the 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, she improved again, jumping 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in). That mark equalled the World Youth Best.

On March 12, 2016, Vashti jumped 1.99 m (6 ft 6 1⁄4 in) while winning the 2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Portland, Oregon.[10] The mark established a new World Junior Record. At the time, just one week before the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships, which were held in the same facility in the Portland convention center, Cunningham's jump was the #1 jump in the world in 2016.[11] Eight days later, she won the World Indoor Championship.

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing the  United States
2015 Pan American Junior Championships Edmonton, Alberta 1st High jump 1.96 m[a]
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, Oregon 1st High jump 1.96 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 13th High jump 1.88 m
a Pan American Junior Championships meet record; World youth best

USA National Championships

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships Portland, Oregon 1st High jump 1.99 m[a]
US Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 2nd High jump 1.97 m[b]
a World junior record
b American junior record

References

  1. ↑ http://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/vashti-cunningham-usa-high-jump
  2. ↑ http://www.all-athletics.com/node/565315
  3. ↑ http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/06/30/483838674/a-gifted-high-jumper-gets-set-to-leap-onto-the-world-stage
  4. ↑ March 21, 2016 - 5:08pm Bishop Gorman’s Vashti Cunningham turns pro, signs with Nike
  5. ↑ http://www.mtsacrelays.com/2015/results/041815results.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.iaaf.org/records/toplists/jumps/high-jump/outdoor/women/youth
  7. ↑ http://www.iaaf.org/records/toplists/jumps/high-jump/outdoor/women/senior/2015
  8. ↑ http://www.usatf.org/News/Vashti-Cunningham-named-USATF-Athlete-of-the-Week.aspx
  9. ↑ http://www.flashresults.com/2015_Meets/Outdoor/06-25_USATF/072-1_compiled.htm
  10. ↑ http://www.flashresults.com/2016_Meets/Indoor/03-11_USATF/011-1_compiled.htm
  11. ↑ http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/vashti-cunningham-us-indoor-portland
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