Chaunté Lowe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chaunté Lowe

Chaunté Lowe in Doha 2010
Personal information
Birth name	Chaunté Howard
Nationality	United States
Born	(1984-01-12) January 12, 1984 (age 41) California
Residence	Jacksonville, Florida
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
Personal best(s)	High jump: 2.05 m (Des Moines, 2010) High jump (indoor): 2.02 m (Albuquerque, 2012)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games Bronze 2008 Beijing High jump World Championships Silver 2005 Helsinki High jump World Indoor Championships Gold 2012 Istanbul High jump Bronze 2010 Doha High jump Pan American Junior Championships Bronze 2003 Bridgetown High jump

Chaunté Lowe (born January 12, 1984) is an American athlete who is famous for the high jump. She has competed in four Olympic Games (in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016). Chaunté won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. She also earned a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2012 World Indoor Championships.

Chaunté Lowe holds the American record for the women's high jump outdoors, clearing 2.05 meters in 2010. She also holds the indoor record with a jump of 2.02 meters in 2012.

Chaunté Lowe's Athletic Journey

Starting Her Career in High School

Chaunté Lowe went to John W. North High School in Riverside, California. There, she won the National Scholastic Indoor Championships twice. In 2001, she won the high jump at the CIF California State Meet. The next year, in 2002, she placed second in high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Her strong performance helped her team win the state championships. One of her first big achievements was winning a bronze medal in high jump at the 2003 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships.

Competing in the 2004 Olympics

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Chaunté competed in the women's high jump. She jumped 1.85 meters in the first round. This jump was not quite enough for her to move on to the final competition.

Winning Silver at the 2005 World Championships

In 2005, Chaunté Lowe competed at the 2005 IAAF World Championships. She jumped 1.93 meters in the qualifying round, which was good enough to reach the final. In the final, she achieved a height of 2.00 meters. This amazing jump earned her a silver medal, placing her second behind Kajsa Bergqvist.

Earning an Olympic Medal in 2008

Chaunté competed again at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She jumped 1.93 meters in the qualifying round to make it to the final. In the high jump final, she initially finished in sixth place with a jump of 1.99 meters. However, in 2016, the Olympic Committee found that three athletes who finished ahead of her had used banned substances. Because of this, their results were removed. This meant Chaunté Lowe was officially awarded the bronze medal for the event!

Setting New Records in 2009-2010

Chaunté Howard-Lowe in 2010

In 2009, Chaunté became the national champion in the high jump. She cleared 1.95 meters at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. This win allowed her to compete at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. She reached the final and finished in seventh place.

In 2010, Chaunté improved her indoor personal best to 1.98 meters at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She then won a bronze medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships with the same height.

On May 30, 2010, Chaunté Lowe broke the American outdoor record. She jumped 2.04 meters in Germany, beating the old record set in 1988. Less than a month later, on June 26, 2010, she broke her own record again! She jumped an incredible 2.05 meters in Des Moines, Iowa.

Becoming a World Indoor Champion in 2012

Lowe celebrating her win at the 2012 World Indoor Championships

Chaunté had a very successful indoor season in 2012. On February 26, she won the USA Indoor Championship in New Mexico. She set a new national record by jumping 2.02 meters (6 feet, 7.50 inches). She was the only jumper to clear 1.93 meters, and then went on to clear 1.96 meters and 1.99 meters. She cleared 2.02 meters on her third try.

On March 10, she became the World Indoor Champion at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Turkey. She was the only athlete to clear 1.98 meters. Later that year, at the Summer Olympics, she reached the final again. She finished in 5th place, which was a bit disappointing for her as she was one of the favorites.

Returning to Competition in 2014

After having her third child in 2013, Chaunté returned to competition in 2014. She finished second in the high jump at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a jump of 1.94 meters. She was later named the winner after another athlete was disqualified. At the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup, Chaunté took second place with a season's best jump of 1.97 meters.

In 2015, Chaunté won the high jump at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a jump of 1.91 meters. Her results were not as high as in other years because she was also helping her second daughter, who has autism. She competed at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics but did not clear the first height.

Back to the Top in 2016

During the indoor season of 2016, Chaunté started jumping great heights again. She cleared 1.95 meters in New Mexico. She finished third at the US Indoor Championships with a jump of 1.93 meters.

Outdoors, she jumped 1.93 meters in February. She then won the Ibero-American title with a jump of 1.96 meters. On July 3, she qualified for her fourth Olympic team! She won the 2016 Olympic Trials with a jump of 2.01 meters, matching her own trials record.

Chaunté Lowe's Life Outside of Sports

Chaunté took a break from competing in 2007 when her first daughter, Jasmine, was born. She had another daughter in April 2011. She is married to Mario Lowe, who is also an athlete and competes in the triple jump. Chaunté graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in May 2008.

She is currently studying for her master's degree at Western Governors University.

In 2019, Chaunté was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. This type of cancer affects women of West African background more often. She had surgery and chemotherapy to treat the disease. In 2021, she received the NCAA Inspiration Award. This award recognized her for sharing her story to help others and give them hope.

Chaunté Lowe's Best Jumps

Key: AR = Area Record (best in a large region), NR = National Record (best in a country)

Chaunté Lowe's International Competitions

All results shown are for 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) Means overall position in the first qualifying round. NM = no mark (did not clear a height)

See also

In Spanish: Chaunté Lowe para niños

• Female two metres club