Quanesha Burks (born March 15, 1995) is an American track and field athlete who mainly competes as a long jumper. She represented her country at the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. She was the gold medalist at the regional 2015 NACAC Championships in Athletics. Collegiately, she competed for Alabama Crimson Tide and was the 2015 NCAA Division I champion in long jump.
Career Born to Lesha Dobbins in Ozark, Alabama, she attended Hartselle High School and went on to study at University of Alabama. Burks has four younger siblings; two brothers and two sisters. While a high school student, she took up track and performed well, going on to place third in the triple jump at the 2012 USATF Junior Olympics and winning a 100-meter dash/long jump/triple jump triple at the 2013 state championships.Quanesha Burks. Team USA. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
College Burks competed for the Alabama Crimson Tide where she was a multiple-time Southeastern Conference champion and multiple-time NCAA champion, including being Alabama's first women's long jump champion. In college, she also competed in the 100 meter dash and 4x100 relay. Her first NCAA long jump title came at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She was runner-up to Jamaica's Chanice Porter at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships and also took second at the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships after Sha'Keela Saunders.
Professional Burks made her international debut at the age of nineteen, competing in the long jump at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where she placed fifth.Quanesha Burks. IAAF. Retrieved 2018-02-19. A senior gold medal came at the 2015 NACAC Championships in Athletics, where she set the championship record at 6.93 m.Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2015-08-09). Dwyer, Jefferson and Burks the stars of the final day of NACAC Championships . IAAF. Retrieved 2018-02-19. She managed eighth place in the final at the 2015 Pan American Games, but took a second regional gold at the 2016 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics, breaking the championship record with a jump of 6.74 m.Team USA turns in 23-medal performance Sunday at NACAC U-23 Championships . USATF (2017-07-17). Retrieved 2018-02-19. After a fourth-place finish at the 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships,USATF Championships - 6/22/2017 to 6/25/2017 Hornets Stadium, Sacramento Results . USATF. Retrieved on 2017-06-13. her global senior debut came at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics, though she did not make it beyond the qualifying round.
She was third at the 2018 PSD Bank Meeting on the IAAF World Indoor Tour, then finished second to Brittney Reese at the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships to earn qualification to the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships where she finished 4th.
International competitions 2014World Junior ChampionshipsEugene, United States5thLong jump6.04 m2015NACAC ChampionshipsSan José, Costa Rica1stLong jump6.93 m Pan American GamesToronto, Canada8thLong jump6.47 m2016NACAC Under-23 ChampionshipsSan Salvador, El Salvador1stLong jump6.74 m 2017World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom14th (q)Long jump6.44 m2018World Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom4thLong jump6.81 mNACAC ChampionshipsToronto, Canada2ndLong jump6.59 m2021Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan13th (q)Long jump6.56 m2022World Indoor ChampionshipsBelgrade, Serbia5thLong jump6.77 mWorld ChampionshipsEugene, United States4thLong jump6.88 mNACAC ChampionshipsFreeport, Bahamas1stLong jump6.75 m2023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary16th (q)Long jump6.57 m2025World ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan8thLong jump6.60 m
National titles NCAA Outdoor Championships Long jump: 2015
Personal life Burks grew up in poverty. She worked at McDonald's as a high school student to help pay for her grandmother's car insurance.
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