Tora Harris

Tora Lian-Juin Harris[1][2] (born September 21, 1978) is an American high jumper. He is a Princeton University engineer of Taiwanese and African-American descent. Harris is an Olympian, a four-time national champion and two-time bronze medalist in international competition. He represented Team USA twice in the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, three times in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics and has served as a representative once in the IAAF Continental Cup. He spent two years as the No. 1 ranked high jumper in the United States.

Tora Harris
CollegePrinceton
ConferenceIvy
SportTrack and field
Class2002
Career1998–present
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight183 lb (83 kg)
NationalityAmerican
Born (1978-09-21) September 21, 1978
College Park, Georgia, U.S.
High schoolSouth Atlanta High School
Career highlights
Honors
  • 2004 Olympian
  • 4x NCAA high jump outdoor All-American
  • NCAA high jump indoor All-American
  • 2002 & 2006 #1 ranked American high jumper
Records
  • Ivy League indoor high jump:7 feet 3.25 inches (2.22 m)
  • Ivy League outdoor high jump:(7 feet 7 inches (2.31 m))
Championships
U.S. Nationals
  • 2005 & 2007 indoor high jump champion
  • 2006 & 2009 outdoor high jump champion
NCAA
  • 2002 indoor high jump champion
  • 2002 outdoor high jump champion
Ivy League/Heptagonal
  • 4x indoor high jump champion
  • 4x outdoor high jump champion
Medal record
Men's athletics: high jump
Representing the United States
Universiade
2001 Beijing High jump
IAAF World Cup
2006 Athens High jump
USA Indoor Championships
2003 Boston High jump
2004 High jump
2005 Boston High jump
2006 Boston High jump
2007 Boston High jump
USA Outdoor Championships
2004 Sacramento High jump
2006 Indianapolis High jump
2009 Eugene High jump
2010 Des Moines High jump

In college, Harris was a five-time All-American, while earning the two individual (2002 indoor and outdoor) National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships. He also represented Team USA at one World University Games. He is both the Ivy League indoor and outdoor high jump record holder and Princeton's only two-time NCAA individual event track and field champion. He is an eight-time individual Ivy League/Heptagonal champion, winning the indoor and outdoor high jump championships four times each.

Early life

Harris was born in College Park, Georgia.[3] His mother, Susan (Su-Chen),[1] is Taiwanese. His father, Tommie Lee Harris (1934–1999), was African American.[1][4] His parents made him take Chinese lessons when he was young,[1] and he now speaks the language fluently.[5] He attended first grade in Taiwan, where he was introduced to jumping.[1] Harris high jumped 7 feet (2.13 m) in high school.[6] He placed second in the 1997 Georgia High School Association Class AAA high jump championships.[7] Harris is a 1997 alumnus of South Atlanta High School and was a member of Princeton University's graduating class of 2002.[5] Harris studied mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton.[8]

College career

While at Princeton, Harris excelled at intercollegiate athletics. Harris was a four-time NCAA Outdoor Track & Field All-American placing 7th, 5th, 4th and 1st in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002, respectively.[9][10] He also was an NCAA Indoor All-American in 2002 when he placed 1st at the NCAA Championships.[5][11][12] He did not participate in intercollegiate competition in 2000 in order to prepare for the 2000 United States Olympic trials.[11] He failed to make the team after finishing seventh at the Olympic trials.[1]

He won the indoor heptagonal championships in 2001, tying an Ivy League indoor record (7 feet 3.25 inches (2.22 m)) that still stood as of 2011.[13][14] He won the 2001 outdoor Heptagonal championships with a record jump of 7 feet 5.25 inches (2.27 m).[15][16] That year he was the Indoor Heptagonal Championships Most Outstanding Performer and Outdoor Heptagonal Championships Most Outstanding Performer as well as the Mid-Atlantic Region Male Indoor Athlete of the Year as selected by the United States Track Coaches Association.[14][16][17] He won a bronze medal at the 2001 World University Games.[18] His 2002 outdoor Heptagonal championships performance of 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 m) continues to be an Ivy League outdoor record.[19][20][21]

Harris concluded his collegiate career with a total of eight Ivy League/Heptagonal individual championships.[21][22] He was also both the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in 2002.[18][23] By winning both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships, he became Princeton's only two-time NCAA individual event track and field champion.[10] He finished second to Yasser El Halaby as Princeton's Athlete of the 2000–09 Decade.[19][24]

Professional career

He was a two-time United States National indoor champion (2005 and 2007)[25][26] and a two-time United States National outdoor champion (2006 and 2009).[27][28][29] At the 2003 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Harris, Charles Austin and Charles Clinger all posted heights of 7 feet 6.5 inches (2.30 m), with Austin claiming gold based on fewer misses and Harris winning a jump off for silver.[30][31] On two other occasions (2006 Indoor vs. Adam Shunk at 2.25 m, and 2010 Outdoor vs. Jesse Williams at 2.26 m)[32][33] he earned silver medals at the US national championships despite clearing as high a height as the gold medalist.

He was a member of the United States team at the 2004 Summer Olympics along with high jumpers Matt Hemingway and Jamie Nieto. Harris failed to advance past the first round when he could not clear 7 feet 2.5 inches (2.20 m) on any of his three attempts leaving him with a best height of 7 feet (2.13 m) and a 17th-place finish.[34] He represented the United States at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in both 2003 and 2009 and in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in 2003, 2004 and 2006.[35] He won a bronze medal at the 2006 IAAF World Cup.[18]

Harris was the No. 1 ranked high jumper in the United States according to Track & Field News in both 2002 and 2006 and was among the top 10 every year from 2001 through 2009.[11] His personal best jump is 2.33 metres (7 ft 7.73 in), achieved in June 2006 in Indianapolis.[18] Harris trains out of his Chula Vista, California, residence.[36]

He has developed, produced and marketed the electric ODK cargo bike, under the Juiced Bikes name.[37]

See also

References
  1. Hollander, Sophia (May 7, 2002). "Track and Field; A Princeton Senior Is Setting the Bar Higher". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  2. Stabler, Penn (May 15, 2002). "Senior high jumper Harris climbs the world rankings with Heps performance". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Tora Harris". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  4. "Senate Resolution 1150". Georgia State Senate. March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  5. "Tora Harris (Bio)". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  6. Yike, Jim (2005). "Georgia's All Time Honor Roll updated through 2005!". MileSplit. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  7. "Georgia High School Association" (PDF). Georgia High School Association. p. 195. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  8. "Tora Harris". U.S. Athletic Trust. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  9. "Tora Harris Earns All-America In High Jump". Princeton Athletic Communications. June 1, 2002. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  10. "Harris is the 2002 NCAA Outdoor High Jump Champion". Princeton Athletic Communications. March 8, 2002. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  11. "Tora Harris (Events & Rankings)". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  12. "Tora Harris – the Nation's Best". Princeton Athletic Communications. March 8, 2002. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  13. "The Ivy League Record Books 2011–12" (PDF). IvyLeagueSports.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  14. "Men's Track and Field Wins Fourth Consecutive Heps Title". Princeton Athletic Communications. February 25, 2001. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  15. "Meet Top 10". HepsTrack.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  16. "Princeton's Men Place Second, Women Eighth at Outdoor Heptagonal Championships". Princeton Athletic Communications. May 5, 2001. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  17. "Tora Harris Named Mid-Atlantic Male Indoor Athlete of the Year". Princeton Athletic Communications. March 4, 2001. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  18. "Biographies: Harris Tora USA". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  19. "Top Male Athletes Of The Decade: No. 2 Tora Harris '02". Princeton Athletic Communications. December 29, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  20. "All-Time Marks". HepsTrack.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  21. "Tora Harris Sets Nation's High Mark as Princeton Finishes Second at HEPS". Princeton Athletic Communications. May 11, 2002. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  22. "Men's Track and Field Captures Fifth Consecutive Indoor HEPs Title". Princeton Athletic Communications. February 24, 2002. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  23. Longman, Jere (April 28, 2011). "Diverse Interests, One Goal". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  24. "Top Male Athletes Of The Decade: No. 1 Yasser El Halaby '06". Princeton Athletic Communications. December 30, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  25. "2005 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  26. "2007 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  27. "2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  28. "2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  29. "USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions: Men's High Jump". USA Track & Field. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  30. Denman, Elliott (March 3, 2003). "Track and Field; Dragila, Using Longer Pole, Raises the Bar in the Vault". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  31. "2003 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  32. "2006 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  33. "2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USA Track & Field. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  34. Denman, Elliott (August 20, 2004). "Harris eliminated in high jump". Jackson Sun. Gannett. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  35. "Athlete Profile: Tora Harris". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  36. "Tora Harris". USA Track & Field. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  37. https://www.juicedbikes.com/pages/about-us

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