LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Vegas native and now three-time Olympian Vashtī Cunningham had tears in her eyes as she reflected on the start of her professional high jumping career at Bishop Gorman High School.
“I actually got emotional when I was at the trials,” Cunningham said. “I’ve been winning up until now. I just lost my first U.S. championship since 2016 and I was laughing cause I couldn’t believe I won that many times until now. I just have so much more to do.”
Cunningham was just 18 years old when she became the youngest U.S. track & field athlete to make the team since 1980.
“I definitely didn’t know when I was a freshman, sophomore, junior what was coming for me,” Cunningham said.
Now, the 26-year-old world-renowned high jumper is set to be a member of Team USA for the third time. While she is proud of her accomplishments over the last eight years, Cunningham is going into the 2024 Paris Olympics with hopes to win gold and break the American women’s high jumping record, which was set back in 1987.
“It would mean so much to me,” Cunningham said. “I remember everyone expected me to win the Olympics when I was 18 years old … it would boost my confidence a lot because it’s hard when people expect stuff out of you and you don’t produce it. You start to question if you’re good or if you were just doing well for a certain amount of time and so it would mean the world.”
Helping her reach new heights from the start is star NFL and UNLV quarterback, head coach and father, Randall Cunningham.
“I’ve learned so much from my dad from how to deal with losses, how to deal with wins, how to stay spiritually grounded in everything and also, how to have grace with myself,” Cunningham said.
WATCH: Vashtī Cunningham tells me about her training regimen
Cunningham has learned to show herself grace through a couple of experiences: making adjustments to her training regimen and walking in 2018 Paris Fashion Week.
"I was way more nervous for that," Cunningham said. "I remember standing with all the girls in our spots before we walked out and my knees were shaking so bad."
As she prepares to make her return to Paris, this time as a member of Team USA, the Nevadan will always be grateful for the local support throughout her entire career.
“I think being in Vegas has impacted my career more than a lot of other factors,” Cunningham said. “I have every person I grew up with here cheering for me and praying for me and rooting for me and I can genuinely say I can feel that when I’m out there, across the country, I really feel the energy and the love from back home and that’s something that’s pushed me to keep going.”
Regardless of the outcome, Cunningham's biggest goal is her impact on others and advising youth to have faith in the process.
“There are always going to be people who tell you that you can’t do something or just don’t believe in you and nothing is impossible with God,” Cunningham said. “Things that we get disappointed by are ultimately about what we desire, but when you do things with your heart in the right place and your mind in the right place, when the outcome isn’t what you want, you have so much peace knowing that God’s plan is bigger than your plan.”
The 2024 Paris Olympics start on Friday, July 26th.
