There aren't many people in this word who can jump their own height.
Alyx Treasure did that twice on consecutive weekends on the NCAA track and field circuit.
The 22-year-old from Prince George, a senior at Kansas State University, cleared the high jump bar at 1.84 metres last Saturday to win the Rock Chalk Classic in Lawrence, Kan., a week after she won the Brutus Hamilton Challenge meet in Berkeley, Calif., also reaching 1.84m.
In Imperial terms, 1.84m is six-feet and one half-inch. That's an inch-and-a-half taller than Treasure, who stands five-foot-11. The D.P. Todd secondary school graduate jumped 1.89m (six-foot-two-and -a-half) last year to win the Canadian senior national title. That was just four centimetres short of the 1.93m Olympic standard.
Treasure has a tough act to follow trying to improve on her outstanding 2014 outdoor season, in which she won five of nine NCAA meets. She finished second last year at the Big 12 meet and was the silver medalist at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Ore., then went on to jump her personal-best 1.89m to win gold at the Canadian championships in Moncton, N.B. She followed that up with a win at the North America Central America and Caribbean under-23 meet in Kamloops.
During this year's indoor season, which wrapped up in March, she had one win and one second-place finish, was third at the Big 12 meet and placed 12th at the NCAA indoor championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Now approaching her 23rd birthday, Treasure has tough choice to make. She can either compete for Canada at the Summer Universiade (World University Games) July 3-14 in South Korea or try to make the national team to wear the Maple Leaf at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, July 10-26. Although she's qualified for both, Athletics Canada has ruled athletes can't compete in both Games events to try to minimize travel costs.
If she does chose the Unversiade, Treasure would also miss the Canadian championships in Edmonton, July 2-5. The Pan Am Games women's high jump is set for July 22.
Treasure is now preparing for the Big 12 championships next weekend in Ames, Iowa to try to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary meet, May 28-30 in Austin, Texas. The NCAA championships return to Eugene, June 10-13.
