Roland McGhee (born October 15, 1971) is an American former long jumper. His personal record mark of ranks him in the all-time top 25 for the event, as of 2016.senior outdoor Long Jump men
IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-05-28. He was twice a national champion, winning outdoors and indoors in 1998. He represented his country at the

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nat ...

and

1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, ...

. Also a sprinter, he was a bronze medallist in the relay at the

1994 IAAF World Cup The 7th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 9–11, 1994, at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, Engl ...

Career

Born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

, he competed sporadically in track and field events at a young age before settling on long jump. Growing up in Ohio, he attended

Trotwood-Madison High School Trotwood-Madison High School is part of Trotwood-Madison City School District located in Trotwood, Ohio. The school mascot is the Ram. Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships *Boys Basketball – 2019 *Boys Football – 201 ...

, but did not win any state high school titles. He began higher studies at Middle Tennessee State University and competed athletically for their Blue Raiders team.Roland McGhee
USA Track and Field (1999). Retrieved on 2016-05-28. While at Middle Tennessee he was the long jump runner-up at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level on three occasions, coming second at the 1993 NCAA Indoor Championships and the 1992 and 1994 NCAA Outdoors (to

Erick Walder Erick Walder (born November 5, 1971 in Mobile, Alabama) is an American former long jumper. He was a silver medalist at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics and twice bronze medallist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships (1995, 1999). He al ...

each time). He earned nine NCAA All-America honours during the period from 1990 to 1994. He also won four straight Ohio Valley Conference regional titles in the long jump and

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

, as well as three triple jump and two

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

titles. He was later inducted into the Blue Raiders hall of fame. In terms of performance, McGhee entered the top ten jumpers nationally in the 1992 season with a jump of . He improved to in the 1993 season, which ranked him sixth in the world, then moved up to fifth in 1994 with a new personal record of . His career highest placings were fourth in the 1995 and 1998 seasons.Roland McGhee
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2016-05-28. McGhee made his international debut for the United States at the

. Teaming up with

Mark Witherspoon Donald Mark Witherspoon (born September 3, 1963, in Chicago) is an American former sprinter. He joined his high school track team after having success as a cornerback on the football team. In college, he was primarily a 200 m and 400 m runner. ...

Marcel Carter Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...

, and

Sam Jefferson Samuel Jefferson (April 19, 1971 – January 20, 2001) was an American sprinter. A native of Waco, Texas, Jefferson attended Waco High School and was a track and field athlete for the University of Houston. He claimed the 100 and 200 meter sp ...

he took third in the

4 × 100-meter relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky in many East Asian c ...

behind the BRitish and African teams. This proved to be the only international podium finish of his career. He qualified for the

long jump after Carl Lewis withdrew, but failed to record a valid mark there after suffering a groin strain. He failed to get near eight metres at either the

1998 IAAF World Cup 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

or the

and was not close to a medal.Roland McGhee
IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-05-28. At national level, he reached his first final in 1995 and finished in fourth place with a wind-assisted . He was sporadic in major competitions, frequently adjusting his run up approach and often did not perform well. He did not record a valid mark at the 1996 United States Olympic Trials and was tenth at the

1997 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 1997 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was organised by USA Track & Field and held from June 20 to 24 at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The four-day competition served as the national champion ...

. He secured national titles at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 1998. This was the last time he broke eight meters at the competition, however, as he was fourth at the national championships in 1999 and 2002 and seventh at the 2000 United States Olympic Trials. McGhee was a regular feature on the international professional track circuit in the late 1990s. He was a finalist at the IAAF Grand Prix Final in 1995, 1997 and 1999. His career best came in lower-level competition: at the Grande Premio Brasil Caixa de Atletismo he jumped to lift himself into the all-time top twenty athletes for the long jump. This remains the meeting record.

Personal records

* Long jump – 8.51 m (1995) * Long jump indoors – 8.28 m (1995) *

55-meter dash 55 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field. The history of the event lies in the 60-yard dash, which is about 5 inches shorter than 55 metres. Since the 1960s almos ...

– 6.45 sec (2001) * 60-meter dash – 6.75 sec (1998) *

– 10.41 sec (1994) *

– 20.4 sec (1994) *

– 39.33 sec (1994) All information from All AthleticsRoland McGhee
All-Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-05-28.

International competitions

National titles

* USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships **Long jump: 1998 * USA Indoor Track and Field Championships **Long jump: 1998

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGhee, Roland Living people 1971 births Sportspeople from Flint, Michigan American male long jumpers American male sprinters African-American male track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's track and field athletes 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople