SPENCER Levern

General
MOVE TO ENGLAND
In 2019 she began training with coach Denis Doyle at the University of Bath in England. She had previously been based in the United States of America since 2004. "I had been training in the US for 10 to 15 years with the same coaches and they were great. But I am coming to the end of my career [speaking in 2020] and I wanted to try out something different. I thought moving to Europe would make it easier to get to competitions. At meets when your coach isn't with you, other coaches sometimes offer to help. One time at an indoor meet, Denis Doyle helped me and I jumped an indoor personal best so when I decided to go more to Europe, I spoke to him [about working together] and he said, 'Sure'. I am trusting Denis's workouts and what he is trying to get me to do." (Instagram profile, 05 Nov 2020; teambath.com, 09 Sep 2020; runblogrun.com, 22 Mar 2020; stluciatimes.com, 22 Nov 2019)

OLYMPIC MEMORIES
She says the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was the most memorable of her three Olympic Games appearances between 2008 and 2016. Rio saw her place sixth after she finished 24th at the 2008 Games and 19th at the 2012 Games. "All of them were so different. For sure I remember the Beijing Olympics [in] 2008. I was really well prepared and had been jumping well all through the season but then the weather was so bad and I wasn't prepared for those conditions. I don't think we were equipped with the right clothes. It was raining and I had no rain gear so I was soaked. I really liked the 2008 Games village and the opening ceremony was the best I have been to. Rio was history-making. It was the first time that a Saint Lucian ever made the final at any Olympics. So just to qualify for the final was an achievement in itself. I think I jumped better in the qualification with no misses. If the qualification had been the final, I think I would have got a medal. But looking back I am really grateful to place sixth and to end competition without injury." (runblogrun.com, 22 Mar 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 18 Feb 2021)

OUTDOOR PREFERENCE
She prefers outdoor competitions to indoor events. "I'm a better outdoor jumper. I like space and I like the air. A lot of the surfaces are different [indoors]. Some of them are regular track, some of them are laid down track. Sometimes we jump with pole vaulters, sometimes we run across the 60m track. Sometimes you have to stop when someone is running across you. With the spectators right next to you and with so much going on, it is hard to stay focused. I think it's because there is so much going on indoors that I do better outdoors." (runblogrun.com, 22 Mar 2020)

AMBASSADOR
In October 2019 she was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador by the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association [SLHTA]. "What an honour it is to be one of 11 persons selected as ambassadors for my country. I am even more honoured by the fact that I am the only female in this group. Not just the only female ambassador, but the youngest also." The same year she was named Sports and Youth Ambassador for Saint Lucia by the government of Saint Lucia. (Instagram profile, 20 Mar 2020; thevoiceslu.com, 24 Oct 2019; athleticsnacac.org, 01 Apr 2019)

She became the first athlete representing Saint Lucia to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, when she was victorious in the high jump at the 2018 Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. She was also the first female athlete representing Saint Lucia to win a Commonwealth Games medal of any colour, with her bronze medal in the high jump at the 2010 Games in Delhi, India. (insidethegames.biz, 14 Apr 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 18 Feb 2021)

She became the first athlete representing Saint Lucia to win a medal at the world youth championships, when she claimed bronze in the high jump at the 2001 edition in Debrecen, Hungary. (slucia.com, 15 Jul 2001)