 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1986-09-29)September 29, 1986 (age 39) Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
Event | High jump |
| College team | Cal Bears |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest |
|
| Updated on July 2024 | |
Inika McPherson (born September 29, 1986, inPort Arthur, Texas) is an Americantrack and field athlete specializing in thehigh jump. She was the 2013US Indoor champion.[1]
During her career, McPherson has been issued with two, separate anti-doping violation competition bans.
She was a 2005 graduate ofMemorial High School, ofPort Arthur, Texas[2] where she was freshman state champion and a six foot high jumper as a freshman in high school. McPherson shares the freshman high school record withAmy Acuff 6 ft. Was also named ESPN female high jumper of the decade.[3][4] Her high school best was 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m).[5] She also excelled in thetriple jump and lettered in four sports, was TexasUniversity Interscholastic League All-State and carried a 5.0 GPA.[6]
Her next stop was theUniversity of California, Berkeley where she set the school indoor record and was a three timeNCAA All American, though she didn't get back to the range of her 6'2" from high school. Due to an injury she battled with during her years at Cal which caused her to have ankle surgery on her take off foot in 2008. In 2009 McPherson came off ankle surgery and captured the Pac 10 Championship title and named female Athlete of the year at the University of California.[7]
She represented the United States at the 2016 Rio Olympics finishing with a 10th-place performance in the high jump final,2007 Pan American Games, the2011 and2013 World Championships and the2012 and2014 World Indoor Championships. Also, represented the United States at the 2017 World Championships in London, the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, and the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
In 2014, McPherson tested positive forbenzoylecgonine, the main metabolite of cocaine, at theUSA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and subsequently received a 21-month competition ban through March 2016.[8]
In 2023, McPherson was issued with a 16 month competition ban that ran from June 2022 to November 2023 after testing positive for unintentional use of furosemide.[9][10] This was a consequence of ingesting another person's medication believing that it was a permitted anti-inflammatory medication.[11]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the United States | ||||
| 2004 | World Junior Championships | Grosseto, Italy | 11th | 1.75 m |
| 2007 | Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 11th | 1.78 m |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 27th (q) | 1.80 m |
| 2012 | World Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | – | NM |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 18th (q) | 1.88 m |
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 12th (q) | 1.92 m |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 10th | 1.93 m |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 9th | 1.92 m |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 7th | 1.84 m |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 18th (q) | 1.85 m |
