SE: Shankar Climbs Mountain to Earn High Jump National Championship, Ready to Scale Another

By Corbin McGuire

Tejaswin Shankar feels like he's back on top of the mountain.

Not Space Mountain or Splash Mountain, though the K-State track and field freshman did visit Disneyland recently with family in California. Personally, he enjoyed seeing some of the Disney princesses the most.

"I took a couple of pictures with them. That made my day," Shankar laughed.

No, this elevated feeling is more likened to joining the Mount Rushmore of collegiate high jumpers. Shankar became part of this elite group on June 8, winning the high jump competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

In doing so, he became the third India native to win an NCAA track and field title, joining triple jumper Mohinder Singh Gill (1969-71) and discus thrower Vikas Gowda (2006). He's also only the fifth freshman ever to win an NCAA championship in the high jump and the first sine 2004.

Additionally, his national championship gives K-State five in the event in the last 10 years and seven overall, tied for second all time. Shankar joined former Wildcats Christoff Bryan, Erik Kynard, Jr., Scott Sellers and Nathan Leeper, none of whom accomplished the feat in their first try.

"I'm back at the top of the mountain," Shankar said.

The mountain Shankar now stands on came after he pushed through plenty of valleys along the way.

His father's death in 2014. An injury before the Asian Junior Championships in 2016, followed by a motorcycle accident that forced him to withdraw from the same season's World U-20 Championships. Seeing his first high jump coach, Jamie Nieto, suffer a paralyzing neck injury in person in the same year. Leaving his family to compete and study in the United States in 2017. Falling short of his goal of medaling at this year's Commonwealth Games in Australia.

These memories will stick with Shankar forever. But his first NCAA Championship performance — he missed the NCAA Indoor Championships for India's national meet — helped dull the pain of his past.

"I think after the low moments, these are the moments that help you progress in life and these are the moments that give you the courage to go forward and know that there's always light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "This was one of those moments that reminded me why I started doing high jump and why I actually came to the United States. That's why I decided to stay away from family. This was one of those moments. That one jump was actually rewarding enough for me to forget about everything, what happened before and how I came here."

Shankar's clutch clearance of 2.24m/7-04.25 came on his third attempt in front of more than 11,000 fans and in the rain. It kept him from facing a four-man jump off and reminded him of his 2015 gold medal performance at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa, where he also cleared the winning height on his last attempt.

Seconds after clearing the winning height, Shankar screamed to the crowd from the mat. He pounded his chest, then ripped off his bib number, crumpled it up and threw it with his right hand, casually snagging it with his left when the wind blew it back at him.

"I think it was probably one of the best moments for me," Shankar said. "It was really special."

The moment, smooth as his jump before it, lifted a weight off Shankar's shoulders, which carried the pressure of being the number one ranked jumper in the country coming in. He earned the spot by clearing a personal-best and Indian National record 2.29m/7-6 at Texas Tech's Corky/Crofoot Shootout in April.

After his initial celebration, Shankar went to Director of K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto, the Wildcats' high jump guru. Standing next to Rovelto was Jesse Williams, who trained with the K-State coach during his high jump glory days that included a world championship in 2011.

"I was really excited to see a former world champion come congratulate me on my win," Shankar said. "He trained with Coach (Rovelto) for a long time, and for me to meet someone like Jesse Williams, someone who used to be the best at what you do, that was really a motivating factor for me. For him to watch me compete, that was even greater."

Soon after, Shankar's phone buzzed. It was Nieto, his former coach, a two-time Olympian who also trained with Rovelto at one time.

"He gave me a call and I shed a tear because that was really a great moment for me, for my first coach to call me and congratulate me," said Shankar, who made it a point to go visit Nieto while in California. "That was really a great feeling."

With one jump in the rain, Shankar joined an elite class. But he has more in mind, a higher mountain to climb. Being close to high jump greats like Kynard, Williams and Nieto, while intimidating to some, is fuel for Shankar to reach the next summit.

"I see that it's helping me thus far because I'm really hungry to get up their level, their standards," he said, looking to clear 2.30m/7-06.50 in the coming season. "It's been a good climb but I know that to climb higher, I have to get down from this mountain and just make sure I'm ready for the next mountain. That's how it works for me and that's how I think about it. I'm not really content with what I've done, but I'm happy. This just pushes me forward. It's one step toward what I want to do."

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SE: Shankar Climbs Mountain to Earn High Jump National Championship, Ready to Scale Another

Players Mentioned

Tejaswin Shankar

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