HJ Fashionista Is Taking It Higher

Published by RunBlogRun on August 3, 2014

When 5'4" high jump dynamo Inika McPherson cleared 6'6¾" at the USATF outdoor track & field championships earlier this summer, the achievement had considerable significance on many levels.  First of all, it was a personal best for McPherson.  In addition, her first  attempt clearance also allowed the two-time United States indoor HJ champion to complete a come-from-behind victory to capture her first national outdoor high jump title.

Further, getting over the bar at 6'6¾" [2.00 meters] put the former Cal/Berkeley athlete atop this year's American high jump leader board and placed her second on the World Leader list - just behind Russian high jump czarina Anna Chicherova's global-leading clearance of 2.01m.

McPherson's championship-winning leap also allowed her to gain entrance into an exclusive high jump sorority:  The Two Meter Club.  "It is great, awesome, amazing - just everything you can say about it," gushes the animated champion.  "I just worked for this for such a long time.  I watched 2 meter jumpers on YouTube as much as I could just to get something from them that they did to get over 2 meters.  I feel that watching them, my supporters, and my coach [Rice University's Patrick Pyle] helped to make it [her 2.00 meter clearance] happen.  

While 48 women worldwide - led by Stefka Kostadinova's eye-popping 1987 world record leap of 2.09m [6'10¼] - have cleared 2.00m or better, only 8 American women have done so.  And of the eight, only 4 U.S. women [Amy Acuff (2.01m); Louise Ritter (2.03m); Brigetta Barrett (2.04m); and Chaunte Lowe (2.05m)] have ever jumped higher than the 27 year old Texan.  "Those are the people that I have watched a lot coming up and wanted to compete against," reveals McPherson.  "And I actually got a chance to compete against some of them before they retired.  It pushed me forward.  Having them above 2.00 meters motivates me to get to where they are."