Tisha Felice Waller, (born December 1, 1970) is an American

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

competing in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

, who participated in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

and

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. She is a five time American Champion, and internationally won the

1998 Goodwill Games The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition the Goodwill Games, which were created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held ...

, plus bronze medals in the 1991 World University Games and the 1999 World Indoor Championships. Born in

South Boston, Virginia South Boston, formerly Boyd's Ferry, is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,142 at the 2010 census, down from 8,491 at the 2000 census. It is the most populous town in Halifax County. History On ...

, Waller was raised in

Decatur, Georgia Decatur () is a city and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

. She graduated from Halifax County High School and the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. After graduating she became a kindergarten teacher, becoming 1996 Teacher of the year honors at Livsey Elementary School in

DeKalb County, Georgia DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its ...

. That same year she won the

United States Olympic Trials (track and field) The United States Olympic trials for the sport of track and field is the quadrennial meet to select the United States representatives at the Olympic Games. Since 1992, the meet has also served as the year's USA Outdoor Track and Field Champions ...

and competed in the home town Olympics. She concentrated on High Jump, coached by Nat Page for a few years but taking the 2001 season off to finish her master's degree at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

and return to teaching first grade at a brand new school, Wynbrooke Traditional Theme School in

Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 as of 2020. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square miles. It lies near and ...

. She was named USATFs Visa Humanitarian Athlete of the Year in 2003. Waller established an American women's indoor record of 2.01 meters (6' 7.25") at the 1998 USA Indoor Championships on February 28, 1998. Her mark stood for 14 years until it was broken 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, ...

by a single centimeter, 2.02m, at the 2012 USA Indoor Championships.USTAF Indoor Championships, 26 February 2012
"Women's High Jump, Results"
accessed 26 FEB 2012.

International competitions

References

External links

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USATF bio
1970 births Living people American female high jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States African-American track and field athletes Clark University alumni North Carolina Tar Heels women's track and field athletes People from South Boston, Virginia Sportspeople from Decatur, Georgia Track and field athletes from Virginia Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games 21st-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen {{US-highjump-athletics-bio-stub