Randall Cunningham’s Daughter Is a World-Champion High Jumper

Vashti Cunningham holds the U.S. flag after winning the women’s high jump final during the World Indoor Athletics Championships, Sunday, March 20, 2016, in Portland, Ore. Cunningham won the event.

Randall Cunningham was one of the most exciting players the Eagles have ever had. A quarterback with the team from 1985 to 1995, Cunningham was an MVP, a first-team All-Pro and produced many a thrilling highlight.

Cunningham was an incredible athlete. But his children might be even better. His son, Randall Cunningham II, is a top high-jumper at USC. But it’s his daughter, Vashti Cunningham, who is the most successful.

Yesterday, Vashti won the world championship in the high jump at the IAAF World Indoor Track Championships. She is just a senior at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. High jumpers peak when they’re in their 20s; Vashti is just 18.

https://twitter.com/AthleticsSweden/status/711665822880681985

After winning the world championship, Vashti told NBC she would turn pro. Randall will be her agent, and said she would hopefully sign with Nike. She jumped 1.96 meters to win the world title.

A week before, she set the world junior record by jumping 1.99 meters. That jump is fourth all-time among American women. And remember: Vashti is only 18!

“People will talk about a great football player and call him ­once-in-a-decade,” USA Track & Field high jump chair Dave Kerin told The Washington Post. “She is once-in-a-lifetime right now until the next one comes along. She’s literally beyond people we’ve come across in the history of the event. I don’t throw around faint praise.”

Randall’s wife, Felicity, was a ballet dancer. They married in 1993 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.

Per the Post article, Randall has coached Vashti since she first ran on a track in fifth grade. He was a high jumper himself in high school. It is almost certain Vashti will qualify for the Olympics in Rio this summer.

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