Robert R. Howard (November 26, 1975 – August 14, 2004) was an American

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

and

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 ...

er, a nine-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

collegiate champion, and

murderer Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

Collegiate career

In choosing a college, Howard elected to follow in the lengthy horizontal jumping tradition at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, where he would follow in the footsteps of such luminary jumpers as Mike Conley, Sr.,

Edrick Floreal Eadric, alternatively spelled Edric or Edrick, is a name of Anglo-Saxon or Jute origin and may refer to: * Eadric of Kent (died c. 686), king of Kent from 685 to 686 * Eadric Streona (died 1017), ealdorman of Mercia under Æthelred II and Cnut * ...

Jérôme Romain Jérôme Romain (born June 12, 1971 in Saint-Martin, France) is a former world-class track and field athlete who competed mainly in the triple jump. Born on Saint-Martin, a French overseas territory in the Caribbean, Romain represente ...

Brian Wellman Brian Wellman (born September 8, 1967) is a former triple jumper from Bermuda, who became indoor world champion in 1995, setting a new championship record (CR) of 17.72. His personal best outdoors was 17.62 metres. Both these marks are Bermudian ...

and

Erick Walder Erick Walder (born November 5, 1971, in Mobile, Alabama) is an American former long jumper. He was a silver medalist at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics and twice bronze medallist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships (1995, 1999). He a ...

. Putting his own stamp on the track program, Howard won nine individual collegiate championships while jumping for Arkansas: During this time, the Razorback team, under the guidance of legendary coach

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...

, itself won seven of the eight available NCAA team titles, indoors and out. Howard competed at the 1997 World University Games, finishing third in the triple jump. In 1997, he was named Collegiate Athlete of the Year by ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

'' magazine for winning all four jumps in the two NCAA championship competitions. All of Howard's personal records were set while he was a collegian:

Professional career

In 1999, Howard missed the majority of the season with an injury. Howard qualified for the US Olympic team in the triple jump twice, making the finals in both

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He finished seventh in 1996 and eighth in 2000. He won the triple jump competition at the 2000 Olympic Trials with a leap of 55-9 (16.99). His best finish in USATF competitions was a second in the triple jump in 2001. Admitted to

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

in 1999, Howard worked in his jumping around his schooling, studying at the

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a Public university, public medical school in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research cente ...

to be a neurosurgeon. He had deferred his medical studies for one year to train for the 2000 Olympics and again for the 2004 Olympics. He finished fifth in the 2004 Olympic Trials, falling short in his attempt to make the Olympic team for the third time.

Rankings

During his career, Howard was ranked among the top jumpers in the US by ''Track and Field News''.

Death

On August 14, 2004, shortly after his failure to make the Olympic team and in the opening hours of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Howard violently murdered his wife, Robin Mitchell, the chief neurosurgery resident at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UAMS who was named a "soaring medical star" by the ''Times Herald Record'', and later leapt to his death from the 10th story of a medical school dormitory. Police found Mitchell dead in the couple's bed with dozens of stab wounds to the head and torso.

References

External links

Robert Howard
at USATF * * *
2004 Olympic Trial results

Razorback Track & Field Media Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Robert 1975 births 2004 suicides 2004 deaths American male long jumpers 21st-century American murderers American male triple jumpers Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Track and field athletes from Brooklyn Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Sportspeople from Pawtucket, Rhode Island Suicides by jumping in the United States Suicides in Arkansas Murder–suicides in the United States Track and field athletes from Rhode Island FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Uxoricides Deaths of competitors in athletics NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen