Cynithia "Janay" DeLoach (born October 12, 1985) is a United States

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who won the bronze medal in the women's long jump at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was listed in The Coloradoan's #3 Top Sports Story of 2011 about her road to the 2012 Olympics. She is currently signed to

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

and trains in Colorado.

Early years

She graduated from Ben Eielson High School located in Eielson AFB, Alaska May 19, 2003. Janay Deloach grew up as a "military brat" living in many different places but Eielson AFB and the Ravens became her home. She played basketball and track for the Ravens throughout high school and was even on the cheerleading team in her freshman year. She was the leading scorer for the Lady Ravens basketball team with quite a few scholarship opportunities as well. She was recruited for scholarships in track and field as well as basketball and academics. She went to college at Colorado State University for track and field in the fall of 2003.

Professional career

She was 21st in the long jump at the U.S.

2008 Summer Olympic The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Trials for the long jump She won the long jump at the Birmingham Grand Prix meeting and was sixth in the event at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

. She won her first major medal at the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of fou ...

, coming second to

Brittney Reese Brittney Davon Reese (born September 9, 1986) is a retired American long jumper, Olympic gold medalist, and a seven-time world champion. Reese is the indoor American record holder in the long jump with a distance of 7.23 meters. Personal Born in ...

with a clearance of 6.98 m.

2012 U.S. Olympic Trials

Janay competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon from June 29-July 1, 2012. While there she managed to earn the number three spot in the U.S. long jump finals with a jump of 7.03m (her career-best). With a new career-best jump she made the 2012 U.S. Olympic team for long jump and qualified to compete in London in August 2012.

2012 Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Janay won the bronze medal with a jump of 6.89 m.

2014 US Indoor Track and Field Championships

Janay finished 2nd in New Mexico at the

2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organised by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place February 21–23 in conjunction with the USA Indo ...

in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.82 seconds.

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships

At the 2014 World Indoor Athletics Championships, Janay competed in the women's 60 m hurdles. She finished 2nd in her prelim (8.01 seconds), 2nd in her semifinal (7.93 seconds) and 5th in the World Final (7.90 seconds).

2015 IAAF World Outdoor Championships

Janay competed in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

after qualifying at the

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships i ...

with a jump of 6.95m off her opposite leg (right leg). She qualified for the final with a jump of 6.68 m. In the World Championship final, she finished in 8th place with a jump of 6.67 m.

2016 U.S. Olympic Trials

Janay took third in the long jump at the trials in Eugene, Oregon.

2016 Summer Olympics

The final US representative for Women's,s Long Jump, she was the only one of the three (the other two being eventual gold and silver medalists Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese) to miss the final, missing out by .03 metres.

Personal life

Janay Deloach was born to Dede and William Deloach on October 12, 1985. She graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and human development and family studies and a master's degree in occupational therapy.http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120205/LIFESTYLE1103/202050322/Patrick-Soukup-Cynthia-DeLoach She formerly married fellow CSU athlete Patrick Soukup; the couple later divorced, but have since been remarried. They are expecting their first child together in 2018.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deloach Soukup, Janay 1985 births American female long jumpers Colorado State Rams women's track and field athletes Living people People from Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska Sportspeople from Fort Collins, Colorado Sportspeople from Alaska Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners