Brigetta LaShea Barrett (born December 24, 1990) is a former high jumper from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Her biggest success is winning the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and the gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. She retired in 2016 at the age of 25 before coming back in 2017.

Early career

As a high schooler in 2009, Barrett won the Texas class 5A state championship in the girls high jump. In 2011 Barrett won the national Championships and

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

Shenzhen, China Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, jumping 1.96 m, a personal best. She also participated in the

Athletics World Championships Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competit ...

in Daegu,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

where she qualified for the final and placed 10th with 1.93 m

2012 and 2013: Olympic and World silver medals

During the indoors season Barrett achieved 1.97 m in January. She qualified at the US Olympic trials by clearing 2.01 m, only surpassed by

Chaunté Lowe Chaunté Lowe (married and maiden names, née Howard; born January 12, 1984) is an Americans, American Track and field athletics, athlete who competes in the high jump. A four-time Olympian (2004 Summer Olympics, 2004, 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008, ...

. At the Olympic Games in London, however, she jumped higher than Lowe and became silver medalist, by jumping 2.03m, a new personal best. In 2016, gold medalist

Anna Chicherova Anna Vladimirovna Chicherova (russian: Анна Владимировна Чичерова; born 22 July 1982) is a Russian high jumper. She was the gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and origin ...

's 2008 drug re-test returned positive for

dehydrochlormethyltestosterone Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (CDMT; brand name Oral Turinabol), also known as 4-chloro-17β-hydroxy17α-methylandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, is an anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). It is the 4-chloro-substituted derivative of metandienone (deh ...

(turinabol). Her 2008 bronze was rescinded, but 2012 gold was not affected. During the indoors season Barrett achieved 1.97 m in January. Barrett earned a 2013 World Outdoor silver medal with a jump of 2.00 m. Barrett won the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championship (1.95 m). She also won the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championship (1.95 m). Barrett was a finalist for the 2013

The Bowerman The Bowerman is an annual track and field award that is the highest accolade given to the year's best student-athlete in American collegiate track and field. It is named after Oregon track and field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman and is a ...

award. Earlier that year, she jumped a new World Lead and Personal Best of 2.04 m.

Injuries and retirement (2016)

Barrett, who hails from

Wappingers Falls, New York Wappingers Falls is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 5,522. The community was named for the cascade in Wappinger Creek. The Wappingers Falls post office covers areas in the tow ...

, jumped on Friday, June 6, 2014 7:00pm at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universit ...

Track Stadium. Barrett placed third in the high jump in at

2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 26–29 in conjunction with the USA Junior Combined Events Outdoor ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. Struggling with injuries, she decided not to jump and to miss the World Championships in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in August 2015. Coming back on the track in February 2016 where she only managed to clear 1.84 m. She decided to retire at the age of 25 and to concentrate herself on her own business. In April 2017, she went back on that decision.

Personal

Barrett graduated from

Duncanville High School Duncanville High School is a secondary school located in Duncanville, Texas, United States, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of Duncanville Independent School District. The school includes grades 9 through 12. The high scho ...

in Duncanville,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

(2009). Her high jump results earned her a scholarship at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. ...

Brigetta Barrett Arizona Wildcats bio
where she graduated cum laude in May 2013, earning a bachelor's degree in

theater arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Achievements

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Brigetta 1990 births Living people American female high jumpers Arizona Wildcats women's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) People from Duncanville, Texas Sportspeople from Dallas County, Texas Track and field athletes from Texas Duncanville High School alumni Universiade gold medalists for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade