PORTLAND — Vashti Cunningham sandwiched her stints here in this Pacific Northwest city, the host of this week’s World Indoor Championships, with two days back at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, meeting the attendance requirements needed for the senior to be excused from taking finals later this spring.
Classmates knew what their friend had accomplished: Cunningham broke at least three records, including the world junior indoor mark, in winning the USA Track & Field indoor high jump title, exploding on the Olympic scene in a performance that could only surprise those unfamiliar with her genetic inheritance.
The familiar last name is one clue, as is the location; Las Vegas is where her father, Randall, made his name as a track star in his own right, not to mention a star quarterback at UNLV and beyond. Vashti has gone to YouTube to watch videos of Randall Cunningham’s NFL career, calling the ahead-of-his-time combination of running and passing a “game-changer.”
“He kind of made it different for people to watch,” she said. “They can look back at him and say, ‘He was still different compared to now.’”
There’s her brother, Randall II, a sophomore high jumper at Southern California who in his debut season stood as the only freshman in the event to earn All-America honors. There’s her uncle, Sam, a former USC running back and NFL veteran. For those more culturally inclined, there’s her mother, Felicity, once a professional ballerina with the Dance Theater of Harlem.
“I’m surprised on the one hand, but I know that she has the genetics,” her father said. “God has really blessed her. The strength, the jumping … she has that.”
In what can only be described as a true family affair, Vashti Cunningham has just in the past two weeks stated her case for being viewed as one of American track and field’s fastest-rising stars — as not only a bright piece of the country’s Olympic future but as part of the present, perhaps as soon as the upcoming Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
And it all starts with her father, who since capping his NFL career in 2001 has turned back toward track and field; he excelled in the sport as a “self-taught” high jumper at Santa Barbara High School in California, ultimately forgoing the opportunity to compete at a higher level in favor of football.
After coaching his son as part of his local track club, the Nevada Gazelles, Randall Cunningham has turned toward his daughter, developing and honing the athletic skills she first flashed in elementary school.
It was then – as his daughter sped around her male classmates in flag football – that Randall first caught a glimpse of Vashti’s speed and explosiveness. A few years later, after dabbling in the 400 meters, Vashti began to experiment in the high jump.
It didn’t take her father long to see the potential: Well, Randall Cunningham thought, I guess we’ve got another one.
[While it came after the qualifying window on March 7, Vashti’s breakthrough here at last week’s meet led the International Association of Athletics Federation to extend a special invitation for her to compete in the World Indoor Championships. The women’s high jump finals will be on Sunday.]
How far Vashti has come – and how far she can go – can be attributed in no small part to the bond with her father, who continues to hold two roles: as father, with all the responsibilities that requires, and as coach.
“It’s a good relationship because he knows my limits as far as being my father and my coach,” she said, “so he can distinguish between when I’m doing too much and what I need to do – like, how much I need to sleep and things like that. He knows, he’s been there before.
“But he does break down a lot of jumpers, too. We study a lot of film, and he knows what he’s talking about. When he breaks someone down he looks at the smallest things, like the way that they’re running or how high they bring their knees. So he kind of brings me that to go off of.”
A potential Olympic berth waits in the future, but not before a more pressing decision. College is an option – USC, Georgia and Oregon are her finalists – but so is a professional career; that choice should come within days, Randall Cunningham said, as the family waits to hear about potential endorsements.
“I think the numbers are getting there,” he said. “But she’s the one who has to make that decision. She always likes to really wait and hear from God. She really trusts God.”
This decision highlights the defining aspect of Vashti Cunningham’s burgeoning career: Despite a recent breakthrough, her time in the spotlight is only getting started. She’s several years from her physical peak, Randall Cunningham said, and has ample room for growth before fulfilling her potential.
“The sky is the limit for her,” he said. “It’s all about her and what she does.”
