Tisha Felice Waller, (born December 1, 1970) is an American athlete competing in the high jump, who participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics.[1] She is a five time American Champion, and internationally won the 1998 Goodwill Games, plus bronze medals in the 1991 World University Games and the 1999 World Indoor Championships.

Tisha Waller
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  United States
World Indoor Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Maebashi High jump
Summer Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Sheffield High jump
Goodwill Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 New York City High jump

Born in South Boston, Virginia, Waller was raised in Decatur, Georgia.[2] She graduated from Halifax County High School and the University of North Carolina. After graduating she became a kindergarten teacher, becoming 1996 Teacher of the year honors at Livsey Elementary School in DeKalb County, Georgia. That same year she won the United States Olympic Trials (track and field) and competed in the home town Olympics. She concentrated on High Jump, coached by Nat Page[2][3] for a few years but taking the 2001 season off to finish her master's degree at Clark University and return to teaching first grade at a brand new school, Wynbrooke Traditional Theme School in Stone Mountain, Georgia. She was named USATFs Visa Humanitarian Athlete of the Year in 2003.

Waller established an American women's indoor record of 2.01 meters (6' 7.25") at the 1998 USA Indoor Championships on February 28, 1998. Her mark stood for 14 years until it was broken by Chaunté Lowe by a single centimeter, 2.02m, at the 2012 USA Indoor Championships.[4]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing   United States
1991 Universiade Sheffield, United Kingdom 3rd 1.90 m
1995 World Indoor Championships Barcelona, Spain 7th 1.93 m
World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 17th (q) 1.90 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 9th 1.93 m
1998 Goodwill Games New York City, United States 1st 1.97 m
World Cup Johannesburg, South Africa 3rd 1.93 m
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 3rd 1.96 m
World Championships Seville, Spain 4th 1.96 m
2002 World Cup Madrid, Spain 4th 1.96 m
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 7th 1.96 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 16th (q) 1.89 m
(q) = overall position in qualifying round

References

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  1. ^ Tisha Waller at Sports Reference Sports References
  2. ^ a b Teel, David (August 1, 1996). "Teacher setting some high standards". Daily Press. p. 20. Retrieved May 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/w-track/mtt/page_nat00.html Nat Page bio
  4. ^ USTAF Indoor Championships, 26 February 2012; "Women's High Jump, Results"; accessed 26 FEB 2012.
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