Sports gene: Meet the HSer who went 7 feet in the third meet of his life when the head coach didn't even know his last name

Quite impressive! So, what time is this equivalent to for a high school miler? Maybe 4:10 - 4:15? In his third meet! Of course he plays basketball so it's not like he didn't already do an activity that involved jumping. Maybe this is like a soccer player come out for track and running the mile.

Am I crazy? You think a 7' HS high jumper is equivalent to a 4:12 miler? How many HS kids have jumped 7'? I'd guess several hundred have run 4:10-4:15, maybe a 1000+?

Helluva talent. What’s even crazier than the story is the thought that there are guys like this (albeit very very few) out there in every event that never give it a try.

Is that the pole vault or the long jump? Could you be more specific in the title of the thread.

Perhaps you missed the title of the article? "High jumper P.J. Tshiaba reaches new heights at Dorsey High"

7 feet what????????? wrote:

Is that the pole vault or the long jump? Could you be more specific in the title of the thread.

Because those would have been noteworthy. If you didn’t know which event immediately upon reading the title, then you might want to spend a little more time around the sport.

Anyone remember the college basketball player maybe ten years ago who showed up at a track practice sight unseen and jumped 7'. Kind of wonder what happened with him. Seemed like a potential Andre DeGrasse type of story.

WDC Runner wrote:

Quite impressive! So, what time is this equivalent to for a high school miler? Maybe 4:10 - 4:15? In his third meet! Of course he plays basketball so it's not like he didn't already do an activity that involved jumping. Maybe this is like a soccer player come out for track and running the mile.

According to Athletic.net, 2017, USA high school outdoor, 17 boys high jumped 7'0" or higher. 3200m is always a big topic of discussion on LetsRun. 17th fastest 3200m high school runner in 2017 was 8:52.xx

According to ... wrote:

WDC Runner wrote:

Quite impressive! So, what time is this equivalent to for a high school miler? Maybe 4:10 - 4:15? In his third meet! Of course he plays basketball so it's not like he didn't already do an activity that involved jumping. Maybe this is like a soccer player come out for track and running the mile.

According to Athletic.net, 2017, USA high school outdoor, 17 boys high jumped 7'0" or higher. 3200m is always a big topic of discussion on LetsRun. 17th fastest 3200m high school runner in 2017 was 8:52.xx

7'0" and 8:52 are great times for adults.

Cooperton wrote:

7 feet what????????? wrote:

Is that the pole vault or the long jump? Could you be more specific in the title of the thread.

Because those would have been noteworthy. If you didn’t know which event immediately upon reading the title, then you might want to spend a little more time around the sport.

I've been around track and field for many years and have seen some pretty weak kids, but if this kid is only throwing the shot 7 ft, I would imagine nobody on the team knows his name.

Too much time on your hands Troll. Either get a real job...... or get out the door for more miles .

0/400 for your troll.

YMMV wrote:

Anyone remember the college basketball player maybe ten years ago who showed up at a track practice sight unseen and jumped 7'. Kind of wonder what happened with him. Seemed like a potential Andre DeGrasse type of story.

"He tried high jump for the first time when challenged by members of the track and field team, who were reacting to his claims about his ability to slam dunk. Thomas cleared 6'6" (1.98 m) on his first attempt and 7' (2.13 m) on his third ever jump. "

Very similar story

In 2017, 23 students from American high schools jumped 7 feet (2.13m) or better and the #23 mile (1609m) time was 4:08.62.

Basketball is arguably better or equal training for the high jump than what most HS track coaches are able to provide. Had a guy on my team, with prior high jumping experience, that jumped 6’10” straight out of basketball season. No specific high jump training for the past year. Later in the season, after 3 months of “high jump training” with the track team, he jumped 6’6” at the state meet.

Although this is truly remarkable, I don't think that these mile time comparisons are statistically valid. Think about how many boys try to run the mile in a given year. Practically every boy who runs XC, for example, runs the mile at least once in a year, if not every single meet. The number of US HS mile/1600 attempts in a year might approach 100,000 since many boys probably run it 10 times, and huge numbers run it once or twice. If you are #23 with a 4:08 you are in rarefied air.

How many HS boys perform in a high jump competition in a given year? The 23rd best performance in this smaller sample is not equivalent.

That being said, 7 feet is a monster jump for a new comer. If some kid who never ran the mile before showed up on the track in high tops and ran a sub 4:20 1600 that would be a very rare event.

14thSt wrote:

YMMV wrote:

Anyone remember the college basketball player maybe ten years ago who showed up at a track practice sight unseen and jumped 7'. Kind of wonder what happened with him. Seemed like a potential Andre DeGrasse type of story.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Thomas_(athlete)

"He tried high jump for the first time when challenged by members of the track and field team, who were reacting to his claims about his ability to slam dunk. Thomas cleared 6'6" (1.98 m) on his first attempt and 7' (2.13 m) on his third ever jump. "

Very similar story

Wow, I didn't realize he jumped 7'3.25 in his first meet (7th jump ever!), and went on to win the World Champs the following year! Incredible.

LennyZ wrote:

Although this is truly remarkable, I don't think that these mile time comparisons are statistically valid. Think about how many boys try to run the mile in a given year. Practically every boy who runs XC, for example, runs the mile at least once in a year, if not every single meet.

Did you participate in high school &/or college XC? Only about a 1/3 of the XC team in my observation go out for T&F. There are a few XC programs which are barely hanging on. In those few XC programs, a half a dozen kids or so go out for XC and three or four of those will participate in track & field. Schools do not have a problem getting kids to high jump. High jump is not pole vault which is hard to get kids to participate. T&F coaches won't allow awful high jumpers to participate. Track & field coaches will allow awful 1600m runners to participate. Comparing top 25 high jumpers versus top 25 1600m runners is a just comparison.

a 7 ft high jump on the high school level is to a 4:02 mile.

GENETICS are better for the high jump than what most HS track coaches are able to provide.

fixed