Jeff Henderson (athlete)

Jeff Henderson
Personal information
Born (1989-02-19) February 19, 1989
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Country  United States
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Long jump
Coached by Al Joyner
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking 1
Personal best(s) 8.52 m (27 ft 1114 in)
long jump
Updated on 13 August 2016.

Jeffrey Henderson (born February 19, 1989) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the long jump and 100 meter dash. He has a personal record of 8.58 m (28 ft 134 in) for the long jump by winning the 2015 Pan Am Games gold medal. Other top results include becoming the 2014 USA Outdoor national long jump champion, and is a member of the United States 2010 and 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships teams. On August 13, 2016, Jeff Henderson came through on his final jump to claim the gold medal in the men's long jump at the Rio Olympics. It's the first gold in the event for the USA since 2004. Henderson leaped 8.38 meters (27 feet, 6 inches) to edge past Luvo Manyonga (8.37 m) of South Africa by 1 centimeter.

Career

Henderson was raised in McAlmont, Arkansas. While attending Sylvan Hills High School, he won the long jump at the 2007 Arkansas Activities Association Class 6A state high school track and field championships with a 7.293 m (23 ft 11 in) jump, followed by a 7.32 m (24 ft 0 in) jump at the 2007 Arkansas Meet of Champions (MOC) high school meet. Since 2007, he maintains the state high school decathlon record in the 100 meter dash with his 10.84 second run. He previously held the Arkansas MOC record in the triple jump with a 14.403 m (47 ft 3 in) leap.[1]

He went on to study at Hinds Community College, Florida Memorial University and Stillman College and competed for the Hinds CC Eagles, Florida Memorial Lions and Stillman Tigers track teams. At Hinds CC, Henderson became the NJCAA Division 1 2008 indoor national champion (long jump), 2008 outdoor national champion (long jump, 100 meters), and 2009 outdoor national champion (long jump and 4x100 meter relay team).[2]

After finishing second in the long jump 7.94 m (26 ft 012 in) at the 2010 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Henderson competed at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where he finished in 20th place with a 7.64 m (25 ft 034 in) jump.[3]

In his junior year at Stillman College, he earned All-America honors at the 2013 NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships by winning the 100 meter dash and long jump titles.[4]

At the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Henderson won the silver medal in the long jump with a 8.22 m (26 ft 1112 in) jump and represented the United States in the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia. Henderson competed in the long jump at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

At the 2014 adidas Grand Prix, Henderson set a new meet record in the men’s long jump, leaping 8.33 m (27 ft 334 in).[5] Henderson set a stadium long jump and personal record of 8.43 m (27 ft 734 in) at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California, taking first place in the event. He also jumped 8.52 m (27 ft 1114 in), however it was wind-aided at +3.5 m/s. After winning the Glasgow Grand Prix, Henderson is a 3-time 2014 IAAF Diamond League winner in the men's long jump.

At the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Jeff jumped 8.44 m (27 ft 814 in) to earn a silver medal. At the 2015 Pan Am Games on July 22, 2015, Henderson won with a leap of 8.52 m (27 ft 1114 in). He had previously jumped 8.54m, but the jump was not counted as it was wind-aided (+4.1 m/s) (28 feet, ¼ inch).[6] At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Men's long jump, Jeff jumped 8.36 m (27 ft 5 in) in the prelim to advance to the final, and jumped 7.95 m (26 ft 034 in) in the final to place 8th.

Henderson took first place in the long jump in 8.58 m (28 ft 134 in) at 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field) and took first place with a 8.38 m (27 ft 534 in) leap in the long jump at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He dedicated his victory to his mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.[7]

References

  1. "Meet of Champs 2007". FearlessFriday.com. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  2. "Men's Track National Champions". Hinds CC Sports. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  3. "13th IAAF World Indoor Championships, Men's Long Jump". IAAF. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  4. "Henderson takes Gold in Rio". Stillman College. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  5. "Tori Bowie wins third straight, Henderson and Merritt set adidas Grand Prix records". Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  6. "Henderson jumps world-leading 8.52m at the Pan American Games". Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  7. "USA's Jeff Henderson leaps to snatch Olympic long jump gold". Reuters Saturday. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
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