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 17.48 m (57 ft 4 in), 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.

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing United States
2012NACAC U23 ChampionshipsIrapuato, Mexico2ndTriple jump15.90 m (52 ft 1+3⁄4 in)
2016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil16th (q)Triple jump16.55 m (54 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
World Indoor ChampionshipsPortland, United States11thTriple jump16.15 m (52 ft 11+3⁄4 in)
2017World ChampionshipsLondon, Great Britain6thTriple jump17.16 m (56 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
2018NACAC ChampionshipsToronto, Canada2ndTriple jump16.73 m (54 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
2021Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan18th (q)Triple jump16.59 m (54 ft 5 in)
2022World ChampionshipsEugene, United States16th (q)Triple jump16.53 m (54 ft 2+3⁄4 in)
NACAC ChampionshipsFreeport, Bahamas1stTriple jump16.40 m (53 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
2023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary9thTriple jump16.62 m (54 ft 6+1⁄4 in)
2024World Indoor ChampionshipsGlasgow, United Kingdom12thTriple jump16.14 m (52 ft 11+1⁄4 in)

Personal records

Outdoor

  • Triple jump – 17.48 m (57 ft 4 in)(Wind: -0.0 m/s) (2017)
  • Long jump – 7.96 m (26 ft 1+1⁄4 in)(Wind: +1.6 m/s) (2014)

Indoor

  • Triple jump – 17.02 m (55 ft 10 in) (2020)
  • Long jump – 8.10 m (26 ft 6+3⁄4 in) (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 16.81 m (55 ft 1+3⁄4 in).

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 17.21 m (56 ft 5+1⁄2 in) 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 8.10 m (26 ft 6+3⁄4 in) 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 17.10 m (56 ft 1 in) – his first beyond seventeen metres. That brought him third place behind the top two at the last Olympics, Christian Taylor and Will Claye.

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2023USA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsEugene, Oregon3rdTriple jump16.68 m (54 ft 9 in) (Wind: +0.2 m/s)
2022USA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsEugene, Oregon3rdTriple jump16.83 m (55 ft 3 in) (Wind: +1.2 m/s)
USA Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsSpokane, Washington4thTriple jump16.49 m (54 ft 1 in)
2021USA Olympic TrialsEugene, Oregon3rdTriple jump17.01 m (55 ft 10 in)
2019USA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsDes Moines, Iowa4thTriple jump17.33 m (56 ft 10 in) (Wind: +2.5 m/s)
2018USA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsDes Moines, Iowa2ndTriple jump17.32 m (56 ft 10 in) (Wind: -0.9 m/s)
USA Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico4thTriple jump16.93 m (55 ft 7 in)
2017USA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsSacramento, California2ndTriple jump17.48 m (57 ft 4 in) (Wind: -0.0 m/s)
2016USA Olympic TrialsEugene, Oregon3rdTriple jump17.21 m (56 ft 6 in) (Wind: -0.9 m/s)
USA Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsPortland, Oregon3rdTriple jump16.93 m (55 ft 7 in)
2015US Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsUniversity of Oregon4thTriple jump16.95 m (55 ft 7 in) (Wind: +1.0 m/s)
USA Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsBoston, Massachusetts2ndTriple jump16.57 m (54 ft 4 in)
3rdLong jump7.48 m (24 ft 6 in)
2014USA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsCalifornia State University, Sacramento3rdTriple jump17.10 m (56 ft 1 in)
10thLong jump7.60 m (24 ft 11 in)
USA Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico2ndTriple jump16.99 m (55 ft 9 in)
2ndLong jump8.08 m (26 ft 6 in)
2013USA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsDes Moines, Iowa7thTriple jump16.77 m (55 ft 0 in) (Wind: +2.1 m/s)
2012USA Olympic TrialsEugene, Oregon11thTriple jump16.00 m (52 ft 6 in) (Wind: -0.2 m/s)

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 14.95 m (49 ft 1 in) to place first.

Arizona StateMountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor track and field ChampionshipsNCAA Indoor track and field ChampionshipsPac-12 Conference Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsNCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
R-Senior 12-13Long Jump: 7.63 m (25 ft 0 in) 2nd
Triple Jump: 16.14 m (52 ft 11 in) 1stTriple Jump:15.76 m (51 ft 8 in) 10th
R-Junior 11-12Long Jump: 7.64 m (25 ft 1 in) 1stLong Jump: 7.62 m (25 ft 0 in) 7thLong Jump: 7.39 m (24 ft 3 in) 16th
Triple Jump: 16.43 m (53 ft 11 in) 2ndTriple Jump: 16.50 m (54 ft 2 in) 2ndTriple Jump: 16.42 m (53 ft 10 in) 1stTriple Jump: 16.36 m (53 ft 8 in) 7th
R-Sophomore 10-11Long Jump: 7.20 m (23 ft 7 in) 8thLong Jump: 7.43 m (24 ft 5 in) 4thDNS
Triple Jump: 15.63 m (51 ft 3 in) 4thTriple Jump: 15.39 m (50 ft 6 in) 19th
RiversideIndoor track and field-Orange Empire Conference Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsCCCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Sophomore 09-10Long Jump: 7.35 m (24 ft 1 in) 5thLong Jump: 7.77 m (25 ft 6 in) 1st
Triple Jump: 15.49 m (50 ft 10 in) 1stTriple Jump: 16.21 m (53 ft 2 in) 1st
Freshman 08-09Triple Jump: 14.01 m (46 ft 0 in) 9th

External links