Inika McPherson (born September 29, 1986, in Port Arthur, Texas) is an American track and field athlete specializing in the high jump. She was the 2013 US Indoor champion.[1]
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 29, 1986 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 | |
| Personal best |
|
| Updated on July 2024 | |
During her career, McPherson has been issued with two, separate anti-doping violation competition bans.
Early career
editShe was a 2005 graduate of Memorial High School, of Port 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 with Amy 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 the triple jump and lettered in four sports, was Texas University Interscholastic League All-State and carried a 5.0 GPA.[6]
College
editHer next stop was the University of California, Berkeley where she set the school indoor record and was a three time NCAA 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]
Professional
editShe represented the United States at the 2016 Rio Olympics finishing with a 10th-place performance in the high jump final, 2007 Pan American Games, the 2011 and 2013 World Championships and the 2012 and 2014 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.
Anti-doping violations
editIn 2014, McPherson tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite of cocaine, at the USA 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]
International competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing the | ||||
| 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 |
References
edit- ^ usatf.org retrieved 2nd July 2014
- ^ "Two Port Arthur natives to compete in women's high jump at U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Thursday". 27 June 2012. Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved=August 5, 2016
- ^ ESPN female high jumper of the decade ESPN.go.com. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ AOC Raleigh adidas Outdoor Championships June 18-19, 2004 at NC State U., Raleigh NC presented by the National Scholastic Sports Foundation a DyeStat featured meet Dyestat.com. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ Inika Mcpherson University of California Port Arthur Memorial Berkeley, CA, USA Milesplit.com. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ Inika McPherson Bio - The University of California Official Athletic Site calbears.com. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ University of California, Berkeley record book
- ^ USADA: US Track & Field Athlete, McPherson, Accepts Sanction For Rule Violation, usada.org, 19 December 2014
- ^ "AAA Arbitrator Imposes 16-Month Sanction on Track and Field Athlete Inika McPherson for Anti-Doping Rule Violation". LawInSport. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
- ^ "n the Matter of the Arbitration between UNITED STATES ANTI-DOPING AGENCY and INIKA MCPHERSON" (PDF). USADA. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
- ^ Lloyd, Owen (15 April 2023). "US Olympian McPherson banned for 16 months after second doping violation of career". Insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
External links
edit- Inika McPherson at World Athletics
- Inika McPherson at legacy.USATF.org (archived)
- Inika McPherson at Team USA (archived)
- Inika McPherson at Olympics.com
- Inika McPherson at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)