Jumper Vashti Cunningham Qualifies for Rio Olympics

The daughter of former Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham has qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the high jump.

Vashti, 18, placed second at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon this past week.

She had won the high jump at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Portland, Oregon this winter. Now, she'll get a chance at another global title in Rio.

The recent high school graduate's jump of 6 feet, 5 and a half inches is the second highest in the world this year, trailing only fellow American Chaunte Lowe. Lowe's 's 6 foot, 7 inch jump won the trials.

Vashti is coached by her father, who has a small entourage of athletes that he now coaches in Las Vegas.

Cunningham coaches the Nevada Gazelles, with a training base at his Las Vegas home.

"I've got a little Buddy (Ryan) in me," Cunningham told the New York Times in a recent interview, referencing his late former coach with the Eagles.

Cunningham's son, Randall Cunningham II, also competed at the Olympic Trials in the high jump, but did not qualify for the Olympic team.

Randall Cunningham was the Eagles starting quarterback for most of the ten seasons that he was with the team, from 1985 to 1995.

Image courtesy filip bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium via commons.