Levern Spencer

Levern Donaline Spencer, SLMM (born 23 June 1984 in Cacao Babonneau, Castries ) is a Saint Lucian retired athlete and high jumper.

Spencer was a four-time Olympian for Saint Lucia and competed in eight World Championships.

She was also a gold medalist at both the Commonwealth Games and Pan-American Games.

Born in Castries, Spencer attended the University of Georgia in the United States.

She earned a bachelor's degree from Georgia in Health Promotion and Behavior, having first embarked upon a course of study in computer science.

She did not make the final, only managing 1.85 m for 27th.

She competed at several CARIFTA Games, bringing home gold in 2001.

That same year, she earned the bronze medal at the World Youth Championships in Athletics in Debrecen, Hungary, jumping 1.81 m. Earlier in the season, she sailed over 1.84 m, a Saint Lucian national record.

In 2002, she won silver medal behind Jamaica's Shaunette Davidson at the CARIFTA Games.

Later that year, she finished in eighth place at the World Junior Championships with 1.83 m, far from the winner, Croatia's Blanka Vlašić.

At the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, however, she needed two attempts to clear 1.88m, and eventually recorded Saint Lucia's best-ever individual finish at Commonwealth Games athletics with a bronze medal, joining Dominic Johnson, who took bronze in men's Pole Vault in 2002 in Manchester.

In 2003, she bettered her national record and personal best, clearing 1.86 m twice.

Still a junior athlete, she made the final at the Pan American Games and ended in fifth place.

In 2004, she jumped 1.88 m.

2005 was a breakthrough year for Spencer.

After turning 21, she won her first major title at the Central American and Caribbean Championships by clearing a new personal best and national record of 1.94 m. This result earned her a spot in the 2005 World Championships in Athletics.

She was eliminated from competition in the qualifying round, only recording 1.84 m.

In 2006, she took gold at the NACAC Under-23 Championships and won bronze at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

At the Commonwealth Games, she finished 5th.

During the season, she only jumped 1.90 m in April.

During the 2007 season, Spencer won the NACAC Championships and took bronze at the Pan American Games behind Mexico's Romary Rifka and Canada's Nicole Forrester.

Competing at her second senior 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Spencer made the final by equalling her own national record of 1.94 m. She finished 15th with 1.90 m in the final.

In 2008, Spencer, Dominic Johnson and Erma Gene Evans were the only three athletes representing Saint Lucia at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Earlier in the season, she won the 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships with a jump of 1.91 m.

In 2009, Spencer signed her first professional contract with Stellar Group, becoming the first high jumper on their roster.

She repeated as Central American and Caribbean champion in Havana, Cuba and signed an endorsement deal with Caribbean telecommunications provider LIME.

After taking the gold medal at the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, Spencer was the sole Saint Lucian to qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, but she failed to make the final.

She also narrowly missed out on making the cut for the season-ending 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, finishing ninth in the world for women's high jump.

On 18 July 2009, she achieved her best jump of 1.95 m in Zaragoza.

She was featured on the cover of the 2010 LIME Services Directory.

On 8 May 2010, in Athens, Georgia, she cleared 1.98 m to cruise to a victory with what was at the time the second-best jump in the world for the 2010 season.

The jump is the Saint Lucia National Record and the record for the Caribbean Community.

With this result of 1.98 m, Spencer was the leading women's high jumper in the Commonwealth.

In 2010, Spencer recorded six of the top ten best jumps of her career.

She scored a victory at the 2010 CAC Games with a jump of 1.94 m and also had success on the European circuit, scoring five straight victories in Finland to scoop the 2010 Finnish Elite Games jackpot.

In 2011, she failed to make the final at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, missing by one spot.

In the IAAF Diamond League, she finished second with 1.92 m behind two-time reigning world champion Blanka Vlašić.

After the world championships, she won her fifth consecutive Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mayagüez but finished in 7th place at the 2011 Pan American Games.

At the end of the season, Spencer made her first appearance at the Commonwealth Games, ending in 12th place with a jump of 1.74 m.

In 2012, Spencer was awarded an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship and began training in Germany.