Chris Benard (born April 4, 1990) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the triple jump. He holds a personal record of , set in 2016. Bernard represented Team USA 9-times at 2 Summer Olympics, 4 World Athletics Championships, & 3 NACAC Championships.

Professional

Benard made his international debut for his country at the 2012 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics. There, he took the silver medal.

Personal records

Outdoor
Triple jump – (Wind: -0.0 m/s) (2017)
Long jump – (Wind: +1.6 m/s) (2014)

Indoor
Triple jump –  (2020)
Long jump –  (2014)
60-meter dash – 7.05 seconds (2015)
All information from IAAF

US Track and field Championships
At the 2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Benard placed fourth in the triple jump turned into a tough competition with winner Donald Scott who won on his first jump in wet conditions.

At the 2018 IAAF Diamond League Final Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium Benard placed fifth in the triple jump after jumping .

At the 2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Benard placed second in the triple jump turned into a tough competition with winner Donald Scott who won on his last jump.

At the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships Benard moved from 7th to 4th in the last jump of the triple jump.

At the 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Benard was again in the top three of the triple jump.

At the start of 2016 he took third at the USA Indoor Championships. This earned Benard his global debut for the United States, as he was entered into the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships and finished eleventh. He repeated his same position nationally at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, achieving a personal record of  to earn his first selection for the United States Olympic team.

At the 2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships he was again in the top three of both horizontal jumps. He was short of seventeen metres at the 2015 USA Outdoor Championships and beaten into fourth place (Marquis Dendy took the final spot on the team for the 2015 World Championships in Athletics).

Bernard took second place in both the long jump and triple jump at the 2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which included a long jump lifetime best of  in qualifying. At the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships he set another best, this time in the triple jump with a mark of  – his first beyond seventeen metres. That brought him third place behind the top two at the last Olympics, Christian Taylor and Will Claye.

Personal biography
Born to Fay and Thomas Benard in Tustin, California, he grew up in nearby Corona and attended Santiago High School.

NCAA
Benard earned his place among America's top triple jumpers after graduation from Arizona State University. Bernard earned eight All-American as a college student-athlete. He gained an athletic scholarship to attended Arizona State University and competed for the Arizona State Sun Devils track team.

In his last appearance at NCAA level, Benard placed tenth overall at the 2013 NCAA Indoor meet.

Benard competed well at NCAA taking the runner-up spot at the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Benard competed well at NCAA level, coming 19th in his debut at the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Competing for Riverside City College, Bernard earned two All-American awards in 2010 from National Junior College Athletic Association.

Benard won the 2009 community college edition Mt SAC Relays as a freshman in a then personal best in the triple jump with a jump of  to place first.

References

External links

IAAF Diamond League profile for Chris Benard
Arizona State University February 2012 highlight profile of Chris Benard
2016 FloTrack interview of Team USA Olympian Triple jump  Chris Benard after qualifying for Rio Olympics
United States' Chris Benard jumped 16.62 meters to finish ninth in the men's triple jump competition at the World Athletics Outdoor Championships at National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary. DyeStat.com Runnerspace

Living people
1990 births
People from Tustin, California
Track and field athletes from California
American male triple jumpers
African-American male track and field athletes
Arizona State Sun Devils men's track and field athletes
Riverside City College alumni
Arizona State University alumni
Sportspeople from Orange County, California
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic track and field athletes for the United States
Olympic male triple jumpers
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
21st-century African-American sportspeople