Former MHS Track Star Places 2nd in Nationals

Arantxa King 2nd in Country in Long Jump

– Allison Goldsberry

Former Medford High School track star and record-breaking Mustang Arantxa King is continuing to excel at her sport.

King placed second in the long jump this weekend at the NCAA Division 1 Track and Field national championship with a leap of 6.57m (21′ 6.25″).

King’s jump was further than her 2008 Olympic effort as a member of the Olympic team for Bermuda.

In an interview with InsideMedford.com in 2008, King mother, Branwen-Smith King, said the focus is on keeping her daughter healthy and prepared for the 2012 Olympics, which will take place in London.

“This is almost like a dress rehearsal for 2012,” said Smith-King, referring to Arantxa’s 2008 Olympic debut.

The Stanford junior is already one of the top jumpers in school history after just two years competing for the team. King already holds two records for that school- second in the long jump for a leap of 21′ 6.75″ and fourth in school history for the triple jump for a 42″ 5.25′ effort. King also qualified as a freshman during the indoor track season for the NCAA Championship in the long jump and placed tenth. As a sophomore King leaped a career-best 21′ 2.75″ at the Big Meet to capture the meet title and helped Stanford to the Big Meet title by also winning the triple jump. King also earned USTFCCA Academic All-America honors for the 2009 track season.

King, who owns the Massachusetts and New England long jump records, is a four-time state long jump champion. King set the state long jump record in 2005 with a leap of 19′ 1.25″ and the triple jump record in 2006 with a 40′ 2.5″ jump. She was ranked first nationally for the long jump and sixth nationally for the triple jump in 2005, and was the 2005 and 2006 outdoor track high school national champion in the long jump and the 2006 outdoor champion in the triple jump. In 2005 she captured the World Youth long jump championship and the Junior Pan American long jump championship. King was also named the New England Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year from 2005-2007 and was the 2005 Bermuda Athlete of the Year.

King also has extensive international competition experience. She was the 2005 IAAF World Youth champion, a Carita (Caribbean) Games medalist in 2004-2006, and a CAC Games medalist in 2004 and 2006. She also placed in the top ten at the 2006 World Juniors IAAF and is a 2005 Pan American Games champion and a 2007 medalist. King finished in the top ten at the 2007 Pan American Senior Games and competed at the 2006 Common Wealth Games.

King is the younger sister of Akilah, another phenomenal athlete and former Mustang that recently completed her education at Brown University. She is the daughter of Adrian King and Smith-King, both talented athletes that have played major roles in their daughters’ athletic careers. King, a champion cricket player, is a kindergarten teacher at the Brooks Elementary School and Smith-King, a former Caribbean and Pan-Am Games pentathlete, served as Tufts’ track and cross-country coach for many years before assuming the role of Assistant Athletic Director.