Ben Challenger

Ben Challenger

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	(1978-03-07) 7 March 1978 (age 47) Loughborough, England
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Spouse	Lucy Challenger
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	High jump
Club	Belgrave Harriers
Medal record Men's athletics Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur high jump 2002 Manchester High Jump Universiade 1999 Palma de Mallorca High Jump

Benjamin Arthur Challenger (born 7 March 1978) is an English retired high jumper. His career highlight is winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games and competing at the 2000 Summer Olympics. ^[1]

Biography

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). ^[2] 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 represented England at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, winning a silver medal, ^[3] and his personal best jump of 2.30 metres was achieved when he won the 1999 Summer Universiade. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, he represented Great Britain in the high jump event. ^[1]

He represented the England team again at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and won a bronze medal. ^[4]

Challenger was a five-times British high jump champion after winning the British AAA Championships title from 2000 to 2005. ^{[5] [6]}

He is the son of the Showaddywaddy drummer, Romeo Challenger, and the brother of singer Tamzin Challenger. ^[7]

Challenger is married to recruitment consultant and fitness instructor Lucy. ^[8] Together they run Studio Challenger in Berkshire, a pilates school. ^[9]

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
	Universiade	Catania, Italy	11th	2.10 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. "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
2. "Interview: Ben Challenger | Special reports". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
3. "Malaysia 1998 Team". Team England. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
4. "Manchester 2002 Team". Team England. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
5. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
6. "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
7. "ADVER CHAT; Romeo Challenger on life with Showaddywaddy".
8. Deaconu, Adrian. "About". Lucychallener.com. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
9. "Pilates: Personal Trainer & Coach - Studio Challenger". Studiochallenger.com. Retrieved 27 January 2020.

External links

• Ben Challenger at World Athletics