 Chaunté Lowe in Doha 2010 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | Chaunté Howard (1984-01-12)January 12, 1984 (age 41) |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 131 lb (59 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
Event(s) | High jump,long jump |
| College team | Georgia Tech |
| Club | Nike |
| Coached by | Mario Lowe |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest(s) | High jump: 2.05 m (Des Moines, 2010) High jump (indoor): 2.02 m (Albuquerque, 2012) |
Chaunté Lowe (néeHoward; born January 12, 1984) is anAmericanathlete who competes in thehigh jump. A four-time Olympian (2004,2008,2012 and2016), she is the2008 Olympic bronze medalist, the2005 World Championship silver medalist and the2012 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 theAmerican 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.
Lowe graduated fromJohn W. North High School inRiverside, California, where she won theNational Scholastic Indoor Championships twice.[1][2] She won the 2001CIF California State Meet in the high jump[3] and finished second in 2002 in the high jump,long jump andtriple jump,[4] leading her team to the state team championships.[5] Among her first successes was a high jumpbronze medal at the2003 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships.[6]
Lowe jumped 1.85 m in the qualifying round of the women's high jump at the2004 Summer Olympics and did not reach the final.[7]
In the qualifying round, Lowe tied withIryna Mykhalchenko for second in her group with a height of 1.93 m.[8] In the final, Lowe placed second behindKajsa Bergqvist, who jumped 2.02 m, with a height of 2.00 m.[9]
Lowe jumped 1.93 m in the qualifying round at the2008 Summer Olympics to reach the final.[10] She initially placed sixth in thehigh jump final with a height of 1.99 m.[11] In late 2016, the International Olympic Committee stripped RussiansAnna Chicherova andYelena Slesarenko and UkrainianVita 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.[12]
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Competing in 2009, she became the national champion with a clearance of 1.95 m at the2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, beatingAmy Acuff to the title on countback. This gained her qualification into the2009 World Championships in Athletics: she reached the2009 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 theWorld Athletics Final.
Lowe improved her indoor best with a jump of 1.98 m at theUSA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2010. She attempted to tie withTisha Waller's record, but just knocked the bar at the last moment.[13] At the2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, she won a bronze medal in the high jump with a clearance of 1.98 m.
On May 30, 2010, Lowe brokeLouise Ritter's American record of 2.03 m set in 1988 with a clearance of 2.04 m inCottbus,Germany.[14] Less than a month later, on June 26, 2010, she improved her record with a clearance of 2.05 m inDes Moines, Iowa.[15]
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 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in): 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.[16] She set a meet record at theDrake Relays in April with a jump of 1.98 m.[17] On March 10, she topped this successful indoor season by becoming World Indoor Champion at theIAAF World Indoor Championships on inIstanbul 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.[18]
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Back from pregnancy for the 3rd time in 2013, Lowe was the runner-up in the high jump in 1.94 meters at2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships but then was awarded as the winner becauseInika McPherson was disqualified for doping. At the2014 IAAF Continental Cup, Lowe took 2nd place behindMariya Kuchina (1.99 m) in a season's best of 1.97 m.Lowe won the high jump in 1.91 meters at2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Her results were less great as the other years because she needed to help her second daughter who has autism. She participated at theWorld championships but failed to clear the first bar at 1.80 m.
During the indoor season, Lowe came back to the great heights and cleared a season's best at 1.95 m inAlbuquerque. 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 the2016 Olympic Trials with 2.01 m, tying her own trials record. She jumped aWL.
She took a year off from competition in 2007 and gave birth to her daughter, Jasmine. Another daughter was born in April 2011.[19] She is married toMario Lowe, atriple jumper.[20] She graduated fromGeorgia Institute of Technology in May 2008.[citation needed]
In 2012, she was attendingWestern Governors University online for a master's degree.[21][needs update]
In 2019, she was diagnosed withtriple negative breast cancer, 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.[22] She was awarded theNCAA Inspiration Award in 2021 for continuing to share her story in order to raise awareness and provide hope for others.[23]
| Event | Best (m) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| High jump (outdoor) | 2.05AR,NR | Des Moines,Iowa | June 26, 2010 |
| High jump (indoor) | 2.02AR,NR | Albuquerque,New Mexico | February 26, 2012 |
Key: AR = Area record, NR = National record
All results regarding high jump
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing United States | |||||
| 2003 | Pan American Junior Championships | Bridgetown, Barbados | 3rd | 1.81 m | |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 28th (q) | 1.85 m | |
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 2nd | 2.00 m | |
| 2006 | World Indoor Championships | Moscow, Russia | 8th | 1.94 m | |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 3rd | 1.99 m | |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 7th | 1.96 m | |
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | 3rd | 1.98 m | |
| 2012 | World Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 1st | 1.98 m | |
| Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 5th | 1.97 m | ||
| 2014 | Continental Cup | Marrakech, Morocco | 2nd | 1.97 m | |
| 2015 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | — | NM | |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 4th | 1.97 m | |
| (q) Indicates overall position in qualifying round. NM = no mark | |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
