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© 2002, Ricardo Barros |
| school/year |
Princeton/2002 |
| birth date |
September 21 |
| height |
6 ft 3 in |
| weight |
183 lbs |
| hometown |
Atlanta, Georgia |
| major |
Mechanical/Aerospace engineering |
| sport |
Athletics-high jump |
| training town |
Germany |
| coach |
Samara/Eisinger |
| personal best |
2.31m (7 ft 7 in) |
| ranking |
#31 in the world |
| outstanding achievement |
Jumped 7ft 7in at Heps Outdoor Championships |
| career goals |
Industrial and consumer product design |
Over the past two years, Tora Harris has emerged as one of the top high-jumpers in the United States. His jump of 7ft 7in (2.31m) at the Heptagonal Outdoor Championships in May of 2002 also established him as one to watch on the world scene.
Harris's career as a high-jumper was born out of a childhood game he played in Taiwan (his mother is Chinese, and sent him to live with relatives while he attended first grade). The children would loop rubber bands together to form a chain, and then challenge each other to jump over the rubber band chain at increasing heights. Harris was almost always the last jumper left.
After returning to the United States, Harris continued to jump. By his freshman year at Princeton he was already winning collegiate competitions, including the IC4A Outdoor Championships and both Heptagonal Championships. Harris would go on to win every Indoor and Outdoor Heptagonal Championships during the four years of his collegiate career. After his sophomore year, he took a year off to train for the Olympic Trials where he finished seventh in a tough field.
Back at Princeton for his junior year, Harris finished 4th at both the NCAA and US Outdoor Championships. He also made his international debut, winning the bronze medal at the 2001 World University Games in Beijing, China. However, it was during his senior year that Harris made a major breakthrough in his jumping career. He took the Indoor and Outdoor titles at the 2002 Heptagonal and NCAA Championships and triumphed at the Penn Relays. At the Penn Relays, Harris jumped 7ft 6.5in, which not only tied the Penn Relay record, but also met the "A" qualifying standard for the Olympic Games. He would go on to jump half an inch higher to win the Outdoor Heptagonal title. At the time, it was the second highest jump in the world for 2002.
Harris spends much of his training time studying tapes in order to improve his jumping technique. This training goes hand-in-hand with his academic interests - he has a degree in Mechanical Aerospace Engineering. After his jumping career is finished, Harris would like to pursue a career in industrial and consumer product design.
However, his immediate plans are focused on preparing for the 2004 US Olympic Trials. Harris is training in Germany in the near future with top high-jump coaches at the world class Leverkusen athletic facility.
Harris news coverage: "Tora Harris Ranked No. 1 High Jumper in America / No. 6 World," Collegesports.com, 3/03; "A Princeton Senior Is Setting the Bar Higher," New York Times, 5/02.
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