Chris Carter (born March 11, 1989) is an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competes in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

. He has a personal record of for the event, set in 2014. He was the 2014 USA Indoor Champion in the triple jump. Carter represented his country at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

and the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing sixth at both events. He competed collegiately for the Houston Cougars. He was a six-time

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

champion in the triple jump, as well as a two-time

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

champion.

Career

Early life and college

Born in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

to Sheila Phillips and Michael Carter, Chris Carter became involved in track and field sports at high school. Competing in horizontal jumps and hurdling events, he was the 2007 Texas State high school champion in the triple jump. That year he was the long jump winner at the Texas Relays and competed in both jumps at the AAU Junior Olympic Games, coming fifth in the long jump and winning the triple jump with an AAU record of . He left high school with bests of for the long jump and 53.90 seconds for the 400-meter hurdles. Set on collegiate competition, Carter chose to study at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

in recognition of its track and field facilities ( Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell were products of the college's Houston Cougars program). In his first academic year, he was triple jump winner and long jump fourth placer at the

indoor championship before going on to take third and second places at their outdoor championship. He focused more on jump the triple jump in 2009. That year he opened the indoor season with a personal record of , but placed third at the Conference USA Indoors. Outdoors he jumped to take second place at the Texas Relays and won his first Conference USA outdoor title. He qualified for the final of the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship and placed tenth. He also entered the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, but only ranked 18th. Carter was the 2010 Conference USA triple jump champion indoors and out. He also improved his long jumping, clearing , and was conference runner-up indoors and fourth outdoors. He performed poorly at the NCAA Outdoors, however, managing only to finish 18th in the triple jump. His final year of collegiate competition was also his best. He won four Conference USA titles, taking a clean sweep of the horizontal jumps indoors and outdoors. A personal record jump of came in the triple jump at the NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship, bringing him fourth place in a highly competitive field. At the NCAA Outdoor Championship he competed in both jumps and placed 24th in the long jump and eighth in the triple jump.

Professional

The 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships saw Carter achieve a new personal record mark of . This ranked him fourth behind Christian Taylor, Will Claye and Walter Davis. This performance earned him his first international selection and he ended the

in sixth place. He struggled to capitalize on these progressions in the 2012 season – his best jump being for third at the Mt. SAC Relays. He was eliminated in qualifying at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials. He came fourth at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, though this meant he did not receive a call-up to an international competition. He competed at the IAAF World Challenge Beijing and was the runner-up, setting his season's best mark of at the meet. The 2014 USA Indoor Championships was the venue of his first national title in the triple jump, as he won the competition in a personal record mark of . He was unable to clear seventeen meters at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, but managed sixth place in the final. Carter now coaches at Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas as a Cross Country/Track and Field Coach.

Personal records

*Triple jump outdoor – (2011) *Triple jump indoor – (2014) *Long jump outdoor – (2013) *Long jump indoor – (2011) * 400-meter hurdles – 53.90 seconds (2007)

Competition record

;National titles * USA Indoor Track and Field Championships: 2014

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Chris 1989 births Living people American male triple jumpers African-American track and field athletes Houston Cougars men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Austin, Texas USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Diamond League winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Pan American Games