Vashti Cunningham (born January 18, 1998) is an American

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 events ...

athlete specializing in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. She is the daughter of retired

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) quarterback

Randall Cunningham Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for ...

, niece of retired NFL fullback

Sam Cunningham Samuel Lewis Cunningham Jr (August 15, 1950 – September 7, 2021), nicknamed "Bam", was an American football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at ...

, and the younger sister of

Randall Cunningham II Randall Wade Cunningham II (born January 4, 1996) is a former American high jumper. He competed collegiately for the USC Trojans Men's track & field team. A dual-sport athlete, he also played quarterback at Bishop Gorman High School. He is a fiv ...

. Her mother is Felicity de Jager Cunningham a former ballerina with the

Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served a ...

. Vashti, like her brother two years ahead of her in school, jumped for

Bishop Gorman High School Bishop Gorman High School (also commonly referred to as Gorman High School or BGHS) is a private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic preparatory school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school is administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Ve ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

until March 2016 when she signed with

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 given ...

. She announced at that time she intended to continue her education at a university while competing as a professional athlete.

Jumping career

On April 18, 2015, at the

Mt. SAC Relays The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The Relays are held in mid-April each year since the first edition held on April 24-25, 1 ...

Walnut, California Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 29,172, and in 2019 the population was estimated at 29,685. The greater Walnut Valley is located betw ...

, Cunningham jumped , to set the new national high school record. At age 17, that was also equal to the No. 4 world Youth mark (under 19 years old). At that date it was the No. 3 mark in the world in 2015. She was named

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

Athlete of the Week for that performance. On June 27, 2015 she won the U.S. Junior National Championship. A month later at the

2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The 2015 Pan American Junior Championships was the eighteenth edition of the biennial track and field competition for under-20 athletes from the Americas, organised by the Association of Panamerican Athletics. It was held in Edmonton, Alberta, C ...

, she improved again, jumping . That mark equaled the World Youth Best. On March 12, 2016, Vashti jumped while winning the

2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. Organised by USA Track and Field (USATF), the two-day competition took place from March 11 to March 12 and served as the national champi ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The mark established a new World Junior Record. At the time, just one week before the

2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 16th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held between March 17 and 20, 2016 in Portland, Oregon, United States. The event did not feature Russia. Following a WADA investigation into widespread and institutional doping practices ...

, which were held in the same facility in the Portland convention center, Cunningham's jump was the No. 1 jump in the world in 2016. Eight days later, she won the World Indoor Championship. In March 2017, Cunningham jumped to win at

2017 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organized by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place from March 3 to March 5 and served as the na ...

. On April 15, 2017, Cunningham jumped to win in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

, two weeks later she jumped to win at

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

. Cunningham jumped to place 3rd behind World Champion

Mariya Lasitskene Mariya Aleksandrovna Lasitskene (russian: Мария Александровна Ласицкене, ; ; born 14 January 1993) is a Russian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the 2020 Olympic champion and three-time world champion ...

on May 27 in Eugene at IAAF Diamond League 2017

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

. On June 23, Cunningham jumped to win in

2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field, the four-day competition took place June 22–25 an ...

Sacramento State University California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

. On July 9, 2017, Cunningham jumped to place 2nd at London Müller Anniversary Games. On July 21, 2017, Cunningham jumped to place 3rd at IAAF Diamond League 2017

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world reco ...

Fontvieille, Monaco Fontvieille (; lij, Funtanaveya ) is the southernmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. It was developed by an Italian architect, Manfredi Nicoletti, between the 1970s and the 1990s. History In contrast to the other city districts Monaco-V ...

. On August 12, 2017, Cunningham jumped to place 10th at

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. On February 18, 2018, Cunningham jumped to win third consecutive high jump indoor title and 4th US senior title at

2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships were held at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organized by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place from February 16 to February 18 and served a ...

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. On March 1, Cunningham jumped to place second behind World Champion

2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 17th IAAF World Indoor Championships was held from 1 to 4 March 2018 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. This was the city's second hosting of the event as it previously did so in 2003. Bidding process Birmingham bid for the 2016 IAAF World Indo ...

Birmingham, United Kingdom Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Mi ...

Competition record

Pan American Junior Championships The Pan American U20 Athletics Championships are a biennial sports event for track and field organized by the Association of Panamerican Athletics (APA) open for junior (U20) athletes from member and associate member associations. They were first h ...

meet record; World youth best

USA National Championships

: American junior record

References

External links

* *
Olympic hopeful high jumper sets sights on Rio
from National Public Radio
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Vashti Living people 1998 births Sportspeople from Las Vegas American female high jumpers Bishop Gorman High School alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists Track and field athletes from Nevada USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century American women 20th-century American women