Howard – “I am not a secret anymore”

Chaunte Howard didn’t taken long to make an impact in the women’s High Jump on the professional circuit after relinquishing her final season of collegiate eligibility at Georgia Tech last June.

Howard, who is currently IAAF World Ranked number three for the women’s High Jump, last summer finished second in the USA Track & Field Championships in her professional debut and went on to win a silver medal in the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, with a 2.00m clearance. That performance matched her personal best which she had established in Naimette-Xhovémont on 20 July, and then equalled in Heusden on 23 July, and kept her as the second equal highest jumper in the world of 2005.

Howard, who turned 22 years of age on 12 January, will try to add a national indoor gold to her résumé when she competes in this weekend’s  USATF Indoor Nationals in Roxbury, Mass (24-26 February), and hopes for a team berth for the 11th IAAF World Championships, Moscow, Russia (10 - 12 March). She opened the season with three wins - 1.89 in Gainesville on 21 January, and then major triumphs at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games with an indoor PB of 1.95m on 28 January, and a 1.93m triumph at the Millrose Games in New York City on 3 February. However, her last competition was a below par 1.86m third place in Fayetteville on 10 February. 

“I know that everybody is chasing after me and that I have a big target on my back,” Howard said. “A lot of people are coming after me. I am not a secret anymore.”

World Championship breakthrough

Although she made the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, Howard gained international recognition with her silver medal performance in Helsinki last summer. Her showing was the highest finish by a U.S. woman in the event and the first high jump medal by an American female since Louise Ritter earned a bronze in the inaugural World Championships in 1983. The most important thing for Howard, however, was redemption for a 28th-place finish in the 2004 Olympic Games where she did not qualify for the final. "I froze up at the Games," Howard said.

New approach

Since her Athens meltdown, the free-spirited Howard has taken a more relaxed approach to competition. She has placed an emphasis on enjoying the experience rather than worrying about the outcome.

“I really try not to think about it until I am about to come over to the track. If you try to talk to me about track, I really won’t know what to say until about two hours before the competition.”
On a damp and cold August evening in Helsinki, Howard blew kisses to the crowd after every clearance. She even cheered on U.S. teammate Sanya Richards, who was running her 400m semi-final heat while Howard waited to make another jump.
   
Howard’s lap of honour to celebrate her silver was equally as spirited as the victory lap of the winner Kajsa Bergqvist. Draped in an American flag, Howard jumped into the crowd to give coach Nat Page a hug, and then circled the rain-soaked Olympic Stadium track exchanging high fives with the crowd.

“I just focused on having fun," Howard said. "I cheered for everybody and had a great time."

Engagement prematurely announced

Perhaps the only regret for Howard in Helsinki was when the media caught wind of her impending marriage to former Florida State triple jumper Mario Lowe. Howard had planned to announce the engagement to her family upon her return from Europe but the secret was hard to keep with a large diamond ring on her left index finger. Although her family was initially perturbed to learn about the marriage in a newspaper article, they have now given their full support to Howard’s nuptial agreement.

College success searched out on the web
 
Howard won three NCAA titles at Georgia Tech and made the 2004 U.S. Olympic team training under Page. Howard won 29 consecutive collegiate competitions including the NCAA Indoor title, before finishing second in the NCAA outdoor Championships last June in her final collegiate competition before making the decision to turn professional.

"I love competing with my team and love my teammates," said Howard, who continues to train at Georgia Tech while completing an engineering degree. "I had a lot of emotions, but ultimately you have to do what is best for you. I thought this was best for me.”

Howard chose to attend Georgia Tech after extensive research for a school that would most benefit her development. She analyzed the lists of the country's top high jumpers and followed up with internet searches to find out their coaches.

Page, the 1979 NCAA High Jump champion who coached Tisha Waller to an American Indoor Record, stood out. “It was a combination of the goal of the Olympic Games and putting myself in a position to get the best coaching possible and to go to a school where I could get a great degree.”

Solid foundations

Howard was raised in Riverside, California, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, and attended J.W. North High School, the same school that produced Athens Olympic 100m Hurdles champion Joanna Hayes, 2004 NCAA champion Nichole Danby, and Cary Soong, a 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in the Hammer Throw.

In her senior year at North in 2002, Howard, who won the High Jump, Long Jump and Triple Jump, ran on a 4 x 400m relay squad in the CIF-Southern Section Division I Championships, the largest section in California.

Howard credits the tutelage of North coaches Charles Leathers and Robert Attical as the foundation for her success. Leathers said Howard's strength was in the High Jump in high school and thought that she would improve by focusing on the event in college.  Leathers, though, has been amazed by the development of Howard, who has added 13cm to her high school best of 1.87m.

"Mentally and physically, they make you want to do well and succeed and grab hold of a vision. It’s not coincidental that they have had a lot of champions. Coach Leathers will get you in shape and perform at the best of your abilities,” comments Howard.

That upbringing paid dividends in Helsinki while dueling with Bergqvist for the gold medal in Helsinki.

"I never had a concept of fear and never went into a meet thinking I am going to get to beat even if it is the World record holder.”
  
Kirby Lee for the IAAF