Early life
Harris was born in College Park, Georgia. His mother, Susan (Su-Chen), is Taiwanese. His father, Tommie Lee Harris (1934–1999), was African American. His parents made him take Chinese lessons when he was young, and he now speaks the language fluently. He attended first grade in Taiwan, where he was introduced to jumping. Harris high jumped in high school. He placed second in the 1997 Georgia High School Association Class AAA high jump championships. Harris is a 1997 alumnus of South Atlanta High School and was a member of Princeton University's graduating class of 2002. Harris studied mechanical andCollege career
While at Princeton, Harris excelled at intercollegiate athletics. Harris was a four-time NCAA Outdoor Track & Field All-American placing 7th, 5th, 4th and 1st in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002, respectively. He also was an NCAA Indoor All-American in 2002 when he placed 1st at the NCAA Championships. He did not participate in intercollegiate competition in 2000 in order to prepare for the 2000 United States Olympic trials. He failed to make the team after finishing seventh at the Olympic trials. He won the indoor heptagonal championships in 2001, tying an Ivy League indoor record () that still stood as of 2011. He won the 2001 outdoor Heptagonal championships with a record jump of . That year he was the Indoor Heptagonal Championships Most Outstanding Performer and Outdoor Heptagonal Championships Most Outstanding Performer as well as the Mid-Atlantic Region Male Indoor Athlete of the Year as selected by the United States Track Coaches Association. He won a bronze medal at the 2001 World University Games. His 2002 outdoor Heptagonal championships performance of continues to be an Ivy League outdoor record. Harris concluded his collegiate career with a total of eight Ivy League/Heptagonal individual championships. He was also both the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in 2002. By winning both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships, he became Princeton's only two-time NCAA individual event track and field champion. He finished second to Yasser El Halaby as Princeton's Athlete of the 2000–09 Decade.Professional career
He was a two-time United States National indoor champion (2005 and 2007) and a two-time USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, United States National outdoor champion (2006 and 2009). At the 2003 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Harris, Charles Austin (high jumper), Charles Austin and Charles Clinger all posted heights of , with Austin claiming gold based on fewer misses and Harris winning a jump off for silver. On two other occasions (2006 Indoor vs. Adam Shunk at 2.25 m, and 2010 Outdoor vs. Jesse Williams (athlete), Jesse Williams at 2.26 m) he earned silver medals at the US national championships despite clearing as high a height as the gold medalist. He was a member of the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics, United States team at the 2004 Summer Olympics along with high jumpers Matt Hemingway and Jamie Nieto. Harris failed to advance past the first round when he could not clear on any of his three attempts leaving him with a best height of and a Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump, 17th-place finish. He represented the United States at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in both 2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's high jump, 2003 and 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's high jump, 2009 and in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Men's high jump, 2003, 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Men's high jump, 2004 and 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Men's high jump, 2006. He won a bronze medal at the 2006 IAAF World Cup. Harris was the No. 1 ranked high jumper in the United States according to ''Track & Field News'' in both 2002 and 2006 and was among the top 10 every year from 2001 through 2009. His personal best jump is , achieved in June 2006 in Indianapolis. Harris trains out of his Chula Vista, California, residence. He has developed, produced and marketed the electric ODK cargo bike, under the Juiced Bikes name.See also
* List of Princeton University OlympiansReferences
External links
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