American Brigetta Barrett has won the silver medal in the women's high jump, setting a personal best of 2.03 meters (6 feet 8 inches) to eke out a spot on the podium between two Russian athletes: Anna Chicerova, who jumped 2.05, and Svetlana Shkolina, who tied Barrrett at 2.03 meters.
Barrett, 22, took the silver over Shkolina because she cleared the height on her second attempt, while the Russian managed it on her third try. Neither of them could clear 2.05 to match Chicerova, who came into the games as the reigning world champion.
The silver is reportedly the first U.S. medal in the women's high jump in 24 years.
Chaunte Lowe, the U.S. recordholder in the high jump, finished sixth after jumping 1.97 meters.
Born in New York, Barrett lived in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., before moving to Duncanville, Texas, to finish high school. She will be a senior at the University of Arizona when she returns to the school and its track and field team.
In a feature posted on the Arizona Wildcat website before June's U.S. Olympic trials, Barrett said, "I have a lot of great support from people who have been there in the good and bad," Barrett said.
"Knowing that people are cheering for you is motivation in itself. I'm jumping for more than myself; I'm jumping for everyone."
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