Ben Challenger

Ben Challenger

Personal information
Born	7 March 1978
Medal record Men's athletics Commonwealth Games 2002 Manchester High Jump Universiade 1999 Palma de Mallorca High Jump

Benjamin Arthur "Ben" Challenger (born 7 March 1978) is a retired English high jumper. His personal best jump of 2.30 metres was achieved when he won the 1999 Summer Universiade. His career highlight is a bronze medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, Challenger attended Shepshed High School and later he studied sports science at Loughborough University (a course he later abandoned in favour of full-time high jump training).^[1] As a youth he considered a career in basketball, and toured the US with the Leicester Riders, leading to offers from NBA talent scouts acting for US universities, which he turned down.

He is the son of the Showaddywaddy drummer, Romeo Challenger, and the brother of singer Tamzin Challenger. However, contrary to popular belief he is not the half-brother of footballer Dion Dublin, who according to some incorrect sources is the son of Romeo Challenger.^[2]

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Great Britain and  England
1996	World Junior Championships	Sydney, Australia	2nd	2.21 m
1997	European Junior Championships	Ljubljana, Slovenia	2nd	2.20 m
1998	European Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	10th	2.22 m
	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	2nd	2.28 m
1999	Universiade	Palma de Mallorca, Spain	1st	2.30 m
	European U23 Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	1st	2.30 m
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	25th (q)	2.20 m
2000	European Indoor Championships	Ghent, Belgium	14th (q)	2.16 m
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	17th (q)	2.20 m
2002	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	3rd	2.25 m
	European Championships	Munich, Germany	16th (q)	2.15 m
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	14th (q)	2.24 m
2006	Commonwealth Games	Melbourne, Australia	8th	2.15 m

References

1. "Interview: Ben Challenger | Special reports". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
2. "Dion's looking forward to spending more time with his family - and playing his saxophones!". Archived from the original on 2012-06-18.

• Ben Challenger profile at IAAF