Chaunté Lowe (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Howard; born January 12, 1984) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

who competes 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 ...

. A four-time Olympian (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

), she is the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2005 World Championship silver medalist and the 2012 World Indoor gold medalist. She initially finished sixth in the 2008 Olympic high jump final, but was promoted to the bronze medal in 2016 after three competitors were disqualified for doping. She is the American record holder in the women's high jump with an outdoor clearance of 2.05 m in 2010, and holds the indoor record with a clearance of 2.02 m in 2012.

Career

Early career

Lowe graduated from

John W. North High School John W. North High School is a public high school in Riverside, California, part of the Riverside Unified School District, and the home of the Huskies. It is an International Baccalaureate school. History John Wesley North High School was establ ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

, where she won the

National Scholastic Indoor Championships New Balance Nationals Indoor (NBNI), formerly known as the National Scholastic Indoor Championships (NSIC), are one of two List of United States High School Athletic Championships, American high school national championship indoor track and field ...

twice. She won the 2001

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

in the high jump and finished second in 2002 in the high jump,

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 gr ...

and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

, leading her team to the state team championships. Among her first successes was a high jump

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the

2003 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The 12th Pan American Junior Athletics Championships were held in Bridgetown, Barbados at the Barbados National Stadium, National Stadium on 18–20 July 2003. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt had the outstanding performance equalling the 200m World ...

2004 Summer Olympics

Lowe jumped 1.85 m in the qualifying round of the women's high jump at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

and did not reach the final.

2005 IAAF World Championships

In the qualifying round, Lowe tied with Iryna Mykhalchenko for second in her group with a height of 1.93 m. In the final, Lowe placed second behind

Kajsa Bergqvist Kajsa Margareta Bergqvist (; born 12 October 1976 in Sollentuna Municipality, Sollentuna, Stockholm) is a Swedes, Swedish former high jumper. She won one bronze medal in the Olympic Games, one gold and two bronze medals in the World Championshi ...

, who jumped 2.02 m, with a height of 2.00 m.

2008 Summer Olympics

Lowe jumped 1.93 m in the qualifying round at the

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

to reach the final. She initially placed sixth in the high jump final with a height of 1.99 m. In late 2016, the International Olympic Committee stripped Russians

Anna Chicherova Anna Vladimirovna Chicherova (; born 22 July 1982) is a Russian-Armenian high jumper. She was the gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and was originally awarded a bronze medal in the event ...

and

Yelena Slesarenko Yelena Vladimirovna Slesarenko, née Sivushenko (; born February 28, 1982, in Volgograd) is a Russian high jumper. Largely unknown before 2004, she kick started the season by clearing 2.04 metres and winning the World Indoor Championships. When ...

and Ukrainian Vita Palamar of their placements ahead of Lowe due to positive tests for banned drugs, resulting in Lowe being awarded the bronze medal for the event.

2009-2010

Competing in 2009, she became the national champion with a clearance of 1.95 m at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, beating Amy Acuff to the title on countback. This gained her qualification into the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

: she reached the 2009 high jump final, but she could not repeat her past medal performance and finished in seventh place. She closed the year with a fourth-place finish at the last edition of the

World Athletics Final The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...

. Lowe improved her indoor best with a jump of 1.98 m at the

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships i ...

in 2010. She attempted to tie with

Tisha Waller Tisha Felice Waller, (born December 1, 1970) is an American athlete competing in the high jump, who participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics. She is a five time American Champion, and internationally won the 19 ...

's record, but just knocked the bar at the last moment. At the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation Th ...

, she won a bronze medal in the high jump with a clearance of 1.98 m. On May 30, 2010, Lowe broke Louise Ritter's American record of 2.03 m set in 1988 with a clearance of 2.04 m in

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Less than a month later, on June 26, 2010, Lowe improved her record with a clearance of 2.05 m in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

2012

Lowe capped a successful 2012 Indoor season by winning the USA Indoor Championship at Albuquerque, New Mexico, on February 26, with a new national record of : That broke the American indoor, and Championship meet, mark of 2.01 (6' 7.25") established at the 1998 USA Indoor Championship meet by Tisha Waller. Lowe won the competition as the only jumper to clear 1.93 (6'4"), then went on to clear 1.96, 1.99, scaled 2.02 on her third attempt, and made three attempts at 2.04. She set a meet record at the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium (Drake University), Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it is regarded as one ...

in April with a jump of 1.98 m. On March 10, she topped this successful indoor season by becoming World Indoor Champion at the

IAAF World Indoor Championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

on in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

being the only one to clear 1.98 m. At the Summer Olympics, she again reached the final and again finished in 6th place, a result she found disappointing because she was one of the favourites.

2014

Back from pregnancy for the 3rd time in 2013, Lowe was the runner-up in the high jump in 1.94 meters at

2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 26–29 in conjunction with the USA Junior Combined Events Outdoor ...

but then was awarded as the winner because

Inika McPherson Inika McPherson (born September 29, 1986, in Port Arthur, Texas) is an American track and field athlete specializing in the high jump. She was the 2013 US Indoor champion. During her career, McPherson has been issued with two, separate anti-dop ...

was disqualified for doping. At the

2014 IAAF Continental Cup The 2014 IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event that was held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 13–14 September 2014. It was the second edition of the IAAF Continental Cup since the name and format was changed from th ...

, Lowe took 2nd place behind

Mariya Kuchina Mariya Aleksandrovna Lasitskene (, ; ; born 14 January 1993) is a Russian Sport of athletics, athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's high jump, 2020 Olympic champion and three-time ...

(1.99 m) in a season's best of 1.97 m. Lowe won the high jump in 1.91 meters at

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number) *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album), 2007 * ''15'' (Phatfish album), 2008 * ...

. Her results were less great as the other years because she needed to help her second daughter who has autism. She participated at the

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 ...

but failed to clear the first bar at 1.80 m.

2016 : back to the top

During the indoor season, Lowe came back to the great heights and cleared a season's best at 1.95 m in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. She finished 3rd at the US Indoor Championships with a 1.93 meters' clearance. Back outdoors, she jumped a WL of 1.93 m in February, then won the Ibero-American title with a 1.96 m clearance. On July 3, she qualifies for her 4th Olympic team by winning the 2016 Olympic Trials with 2.01 m, tying her own trials record. She jumped a .

Personal life

She took a year off from competition in 2007 and gave birth to her daughter, Jasmine. Another daughter was born in April 2011. She is married to Mario Lowe, a

er. She graduated from

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

in May 2008. She is currently attending

Western Governors University Western Governors University (WGU) is a private online university based in Millcreek, Utah, United States. The university uses an online competency-based learning model, providing advanced education for working professionals. Degrees awarded b ...

for her master's degree. In 2019, she was diagnosed with

triple negative breast cancer Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is any breast cancer that either lacks or shows low levels of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression and/or gene amplification (i.e ...

, a cancer that affects women of West African ancestry at higher than average rates. She underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy to treat the disease. She was awarded the

NCAA Inspiration Award The NCAA Inspiration Award is awarded to one of the following who is associated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics ...

in 2021 for continuing to share her story in order to raise awareness and provide hope for others.

Personal bests

Key: AR = Area record, NR = National record

International competitions

All results regarding high jump

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Chaunte 1984 births Living people American female high jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics African-American track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships medalists Track and field athletes from California World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Western Governors University alumni Diamond League winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners 21st-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen John W. North High School alumni American masters athletes NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportswomen