Hollis Conway

Hollis Conway (born January 8, 1967) is a track and field high jumper and a two-time Olympic medalist. He is currently employed by Lafayette Consolidated Government as the Community Development Director in Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory’s administration.[1] Conway previously served as the Assistant Director of Diversity, Leadership, & Education for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team under head coach Billy Napier. Conway was the top-ranked high jumper in the U.S. seven straight years from 1988–94 and in the world for two of those years (1990 and 1991). Conway, John Thomas and Dwight Stones are the only Americans to win two Olympic medals in the high jump.

Hollis Conway
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1967-01-08) January 8, 1967
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight150 lb (68 kg)
Sport
Country United States
SportAthletics
Event(s)High jump
University teamLouisiana
Medal record
Men’s athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
1988 Seoul High jump
1992 Barcelona High jump
World Championships
1991 Tokyo High jump
World Indoor Championships
1991 SevillaHigh jump
Universiade
1991 SheffieldHigh jump
1989 DuisburgHigh jump

Career

Born in Chicago, Illinois and a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Conway went 7-8¾ in the event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, setting a U.S. collegiate record and earning a silver medal. He won a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain after going 7-8½ in winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials that year.

In 1989, Conway broke the American record twice in the high jump, winning the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship at 7-9¾ and the U.S. Olympic Festival at 7-10. He earned his first of two world No. 1 rankings in 1990 when he swept both the U.S. indoor and outdoor titles and won the Goodwill Games. He had ten jumps of 7-8 or better that year.

A six-time NCAA All-American and three-time NCAA champion at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana).[2] He established a new NCAA indoor record of 2.37m (7 ft-9½in) at the 1989 NCAA Indoor Championships: it remains as one of the longest-standing NCAA, and Championship Meet, records through 2011. He won the winner at the 1988 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship and at the 1989 he won with an American outdoor record height. Conway was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1991 by winning the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in Seville, Spain, with an American indoor record of 7-10½.[3]

He defended his U.S. outdoor championship and won the 1991 World University Games, while finishing third in the 1991 Pan American Games and World Outdoor Championships. He was ranked third in the world in 1992 and 1993. He was a Goodwill Games runner-up in 1994.

In all, Conway won ten USA championship high jump titles (five outdoor, five indoor) before his retirement at the 2000 Drake Relays (where he jumped 6 ft 9in, on 29 April 2000).[4] He is a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 1999. Conway wrote the foreword of the Complete Book of Jumps (Human Kinetics Europe Ltd, 1995).[5]

His IAAF biography also credits Conway with a personal best in the triple jump of 16.17 m (53 ft 1⁄2 in), which is an international-class distance (especially given that he likely did not practice this event very often).

Height differential

Conway jumped off his left foot and is considered short in stature, in comparison to other world-class high jumpers, many of whom stand 6'3"-to-6'5". His personal details on file with the IAAF officially list his height and weight as 1.83m and 68 kg, which equate to 6 feet one-quarter inch, and 150 pounds. However, in a high jump instructional video produced in 1991, which features Conway and his coach, Dick Booth, the narrator states Conway is "six feet one-half inch" (1.84m) and weighs "one hundred forty-five pounds." The narrator also says Conway has "average" speed, running 10.8 seconds for 100 meters, as well as having only an "average" vertical leap of 31 inches.[6] At six feet tall, Conway has held a distinction with four others in track and field history for jumping over their own heights. Conway's best jump was 22-1/4 inches (57 cm) above his head.[7]

International competitions
Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing the  United States
1986 World Junior Championships Athens, Greece 2nd 2.22 m
1988 Summer Olympics Seoul, South Korea 2nd 2.36 m
1989 Universiade Duisburg, West Germany 2nd 2.31 m
1990 Goodwill Games Seattle, United States 1st 2.33 m
1991 World Indoor Championships Seville, Spain 1st 2.40 m
Universiade Sheffield, United Kingdom 1st 2.37 m
Pan American Games Havana, Cuba 3rd 2.32 m
World Championships in Athletics Tokyo, Japan 3rd 2.36 m
1992 Summer Olympics Barcelona, Spain 3rd 2.34 m
1994 Goodwill Games Saint Petersburg, Russia 2nd 2.28 m
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References
  1. "Guillory Names Hollis Conway as LCG Community Development Director".
  2. "Ragin Cajuns Network". Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2006-02-24.
  3. "USATF". Archived from the original on 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  4. official IAAF.org press release, 12 May 2000; "Veteran US jumpers Hollis Conway and Brian Brown retire"; accessed 13 March 2011.
  5. "Amazon". amazon.co.uk.
  6. Championship Books & Video Productions, 1991; "High Jump Training via Hollis Conway"; accessed 13 March 2011.
  7. official IAAF.org, Biographies; Conway, Hollis - USA; accessed 13 March 2011.
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