Vashti Cunningham's Tentative Competition Schedule To Include Mt. SAC Relays

Mar 22, 2016

Vashti Cunningham held a press conference yesterday with her father, Randall, and mother, Felicity, at the family's Remnant Ministries church in Las Vegas to announce her professional contract with apparel and shoe company Nike.

The 18-year-old world high jump champion also announced a tentative competition schedule that includes the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California, April 14-16. After an appearance at Mt. SAC, she is considering attending the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, or the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, both held at the end of April. She may also compete at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. at the end of May.

The Mt. SAC Relays will mark the Bishop Gorman senior's first professional competition.

"I've thought long and hard about making my decision and after praying with my mom and dad, I've decided to become a professional athlete," she said at the press conference. "I've signed with the shoe manufacturer Nike and I will finish high school and attend college. I'm very excited about becoming part of the Nike family."

Vashti earned $40,000 in prize money from the IAAF for winning the world indoor championship but did not collect due to her amateur status. It was after the high-profile win on Sunday that she announced her intent to turn pro on NBC. At the time, she was undecided but revealed an interest in Nike.

In the press conference, Randall did not disclose the details of Vashti's contract, but said it was "very lucrative."

"There's so many different endorsements that came and people were calling me left and right and I had to present all of them to her," Randall said. "She's 18 now so she can make smart decisions . It really wasn't necessarily the Olympics, but the endorsements that came in. She's gonna do very well. We might kick her out of the house soon, she can go get her own house."

Watch footage from the press conference in the video below, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal.