Brittney Reese leaped to the top of the world charts in 2009, dominating the outdoor season and capping it off by taking the gold at the World Championships. She'd first demonstrated her promise on the world state in 2008. First, she won the U.S. Olympic Trials on her final jump. She then led all qualifiers in Beijing with a first-day jump measuring 6.87 meters (22 feet, 6½ inches). She couldn't quite match that effort in the final, finishing fifth at 6.76 (22-2.14).
Winning, consistently:
Reese was remarkably consistent in early 2008, winning three events with leaps of 6.93 meters, then extending her personal best to 6.95 (22 feet,9.62 inches) to win the Olympic Trials. She had the world's top four jumps in 2009, including a personal best 7.10 meters (23 feet, 3½ inches) at the World Championship.
Off track:
Reese was an outstanding jumper at Gulfport High School in Mississippi, where she earned the 2004 Gatorade “Player of the Year” award for track and field. She then played basketball and didn’t participate in track and field at Gulf Coast Community College. Reese returned to the track after transferring to the University of Mississippi, where she competed in the long jump, high jump and triple jump.
Career highlights:
Her Olympic Trials victory was Reese’s first U.S. championship, although she finished second in the 2007 U.S. Outdoors. She won a pair of NCAA Outdoor championships for Mississippi and was the 2007 SEC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.
The stats:
- Height: 5-8
- Weight: 140
- Birth date: September 9, 1986
- Hometown: Gulfport, Mississippi
- World Championships: One
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