Hope Bender

Hope Bender
	Bender at the 2024 United States Olympic trials
Personal information
Nationality	United States
Born	January 2, 1997 (age 27); Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Santa Barbara
Height	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Sport
Sport	Running; Track and field;
Event	heptathlon
College team	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Club	Santa Barbara Track Club; 2019-21
Turned pro	2019
Coached by	Cody Fleming '21-'23; Josh Priester '19-'21; Gray Horn '17-'19;
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 Metres Hurdles: 56.64 s (Santa Barbara 2019); Heptathlon: 5955 points (Austin 2019); 100 m hurdles: 13.33 s (Austin 2018); High Jump: 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) (Birmingham 2019); Shot Put: 12.66 m (41 ft 6+1⁄4 in) (Birmingham 2019); 200 m: 23.63 s (Austin 2019); Javelin Throw: 38.30 m (125 ft 7 in) (Azusa 2019); Long Jump: 6.29 m (20 ft 7+1⁄2 in) (Austin 2019); 800 Metres: 2:10.10 (Austin 2019);

Hope Bender (born January 2, 1997, in Newport Beach, California) is an American track and field athlete, known for multiple events and hurdles. She competed for the Santa Barbara Track Club and coached at UC Santa Barbara Gauchos before moving to San Marcos, Texas to train at Texas State University in Fall 2023. Bender studied to be a Biotechnology engineer.

Professional

Hope Bender competed in Des Moines, Iowa, at the 2019 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships and Clovis, California, at the 2016 USATF Junior Championships.

Outdoor Track and Field	Place	Score	100 meters hurdles	High jump	Shot Put	200 meters	Long Jump	Javelin	800 metres
Representing Team USA United States
2023 Thorpe Cup	DNF 9th^[1]	4656 points
2019 Thorpe Cup^[2]	9th	5449 points^[3]	985 points 13.95 s	759 points 1.62 m (5 ft 3+3⁄4 in)	625 points 11.45 m (37 ft 6+3⁄4 in)	932 points 24.51 s	789 points 5.80 m (19 ft 1⁄4 in)	527 points 32.66 m (107 ft 1+3⁄4 in)	832 points 2:19.38
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships	8th	5726 points	1067 points 13.69 s	916 points 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in)	705 points 11.92 m (39 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	1000 points 24.39 s	981 points 5.92 m (19 ft 5 in)	593 points 33.69 m (110 ft 6+1⁄4 in)	905 points 2:15.28
2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships	12th DNF	points^[4]	1018 points 13.72 s	855 points 1.70 m (5 ft 6+3⁄4 in)	645 points 11.76 m (38 ft 6+3⁄4 in)	900 points 24.86 s	points Foul P P	DNS	DNS
2021 USA Olympic Trials	9th	5867 points^[5]	1070 points 13.60 s	1004 points 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	783 points 13.19 m (43 ft 3+1⁄4 in)	982 points 24.40 s	932 points 5.69 m (18 ft 8 in)	575 points 32.68 m (107 ft 2+1⁄2 in)	932 points 2:13.61
2019 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships	12th	5824 points^[6]	1010 points 13.78 s	818 points 1.67 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)	714 points 13.25 m (43 ft 5+1⁄2 in)	955 points 24.27 s	834 points 5.95 m (19 ft 6+1⁄4 in)	621 points 37.59 m (123 ft 3+3⁄4 in)	900 points 2:14.49
Representing UCSB Gauchos
2016 USATF Junior Championships	13th	4436 points^[7]	980 points 13.99 s +2.4	678 points 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)	517 points 9.81 m (32 ft 2 in)	885 points 25.02 s +1.7	603 points 5.16 m (16 ft 11 in) +1.5	0 points Foul 0.0 m (0 in)	773 points 2:23.76

Hope Bender competed in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She placed 5th in the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships pentathlon.

Representing Santa Barbara Track Club
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships	Place	Score	60 meters hurdles	High jump	Shot Put	Long Jump	800 metres
2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships^[8]	3rd	4392 points	1030 points 8.44 seconds	867 points 1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄4 in)	743 points 13.24 m (43 ft 5+1⁄4 in)	825 points 5.92 m (19 ft 5 in)	927 points 2:12.62
2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships	2nd	4445 points^[9]	1063 points 8.44 seconds	984 points 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄4 in)	752 points 12.69 m (41 ft 7+1⁄2 in)	1007 points 6.04 m (19 ft 9+3⁄4 in)	977 points 2:13.25
2022 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships	8th DNF	points^[10]	1021 points 8.48 seconds	736 points 1.60 m (5 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	745 points 13.27 m (43 ft 6+1⁄4 in)	DNS	DNS
2020 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships	4th	4277 points^[11]	1013 points 8.52 seconds	855 points 1.70 m (5 ft 6+3⁄4 in)	684 points 12.34 m (40 ft 5+3⁄4 in)	834 points 5.95 m (19 ft 6+1⁄4 in)	891 points 2:15.13
Representing UC Santa Barbara
2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships	5th	4149 points^[12]	993 points 8.61	830 points 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)	680 points 12.28 m (40 ft 3+1⁄4 in)	777 points 5.76 m (18 ft 10+3⁄4 in)	869 points 2:16.68

NCAA

Hope Bender is a UC Santa Barbara Gauchos alumna and won 6 Big West Conference titles.

Hope Bender is a 4-time USTFCCCA NCAA Division I All-American at UCSB.

UCSB's Bender finishes fourth at 2019 NCAA outdoor track and field championship.^[13]

UCSB Gauchos’s Hope Bender Named Athlete of Meet at 2019 Big West Championships hosted by UC Santa Barbara Gauchos track and field helping the women's team to place 2nd in Big West Championships.^[14]

UCSB Gauchos’s Hope Bender Named Athlete of Meet at 2018 Big West Championships hosted by Cal State Northridge Matadors.^[15]

Representing University of California, Santa Barbara
Year	NCAA Division I Indoor track and field Championship	Big West Conference Outdoor track and field Championship	NCAA Division I Outdoor track and field Championship
2019		400 metres hurdles 1st place 58.02
	pentathlon 6th place 4262 points	Heptathlon 1st place 5814 points	Heptathlon 4th place 5955 points
		4 × 400 m 5th place 3:46.01
		Long jump 1st place 6.13 m (20 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	Long Jump 24th place 5.73 m (18 ft 9+1⁄2 in)

Prep and personal life

Hope Bender competed for Newport Harbor High School alma mater.^[16]

While at Newport Beach, California Newport Harbor High School, she was a 2015 CIF CIF California State Meet finalist at 300 meters hurdles after competing in the 2015 CIF Southern Section track and field championships.

Bender won 100 meters hurdles at 2015 Mt. SAC Relays in 14.69.

Bender placed 2nd in the 100 m hurdles at 2015 Arcadia Invitational.

Hope Bender's best times were 200 m - 25.40 s, 400 m - 57.09 s, 100 m hurdles - 14.35 s, 300 m hurdles - 42.18 s, shot put - 10.25 m (33 ft 7+1⁄2 in), and long jump - 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in).^[17]

Bender competed in Motocross from 5–10 years old and Equestrian through 10th grade.^[18]

References

External links

Hope Bender at World Athletics
Hope Bender on Instagram
Videos - Hope Bender 7th Women's Heptathlon 5725 Points - Azusa - Published on April 20, 2018 Runnerspace DyeStatCal
Hope Bender at University of California Santa Barbara
Hope Bender – UC Santa Barbara profile at TFRRS
Hope Bender – Newport HS at California Milesplit
It Fitz #19 - 2019 NCAA Multi-Events Recap - Hope Bender Joins - Ft. A. Zamzow / J. Erm / M. Clark Athletic Experience Podcast

[1] results - Thorpe Cup Georg-Gaßmann-Stadion, Marburg (GER) 12–13 AUG 2023 F Day 1 - 12 AUG 2023 Women's Heptathlon Women's Heptathlon

[2] SBTC's Bender Helps USA Win Thorpe Cup in Close Competition Over Germany Santa Barbara Track Club

[3] Sunday, September 15, 2019 Filderstadt-Bernhausen (Germany), 14-15.9.2019 -Thorpe Cup Results Track in Sun

[4] 2022 USA Senior Championships Results - USATF Combined Event Championships Fayetteville, AR - May 6-7, 2022 FlashResults.com

[5] Flipsnack. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field Results". Flipsnack. Retrieved November 29, 2023.

[6] 2019 USA Senior Championships Results USATF

[7] 2016 USA Junior Championships Results - 6/24/2016 to 6/26/2016 Veteran's Memorial Stadium - Clovis, California Archived July 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine USATF

[8] DYESTAT DISCUSSIONS - EP1006 - HOPE BENDER - Hope Bender, a four-time NCAA Division 1 All-American at UC Santa Barbara and runner-up last year in the women's pentathlon at the USATF Indoor Championships, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss competing in the pentathlon Jan. 28 at the USATF Indoor Combined Events Championships at the Fall Creek Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Event Center in Indianapolis. Bender, who achieved a personal-best 4,445 points to place second last year in Albuquerque, N.M., reflects on her breakthrough performance and her ambition to challenge for the title this season. She examines the USATF Indoor Combined Events Championships being showcased separately from the rest of the USATF Indoor Championships for the first time since the women's pentathlon and men's heptathlon were held in Annapolis, Md. Bender analyzes the return of Annie Kunz to the pentathlon at the USATF Indoor Combined Events Championships for the first time since winning the title in 2020 with 4,610 points in Maryland. She also speaks about the 12-athlete pentathlon field not including JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, a junior at Emerald Ridge High in Washington who has the potential to challenge the national high school record this year. Bender revisits her experience in August in Germany representing the U.S. at the Thorpe Cup in Marburg, her second opportunity to compete for the Americans including 2019, and being part of the victorious women's heptathlon lineup. She highlights fellow Americans Michelle Atherley and Erin Marsh winning heptathlon gold last year at the Thorpe Cup and Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, respectively. Bender also expresses gratitude for Texas State assistant coach Kendall Gustafson for mentoring her in the field events, along with Mississippi State assistant coach Gray Horn guiding her in the sprint events, as well as Memphis Grizzlies strength and conditioning coach Eric Schmitt for being part of her support system after moving from California in the fall. She explains her ambition to surpass 6,000 points in the heptathlon this year, along with her goal to eclipse the 4,600-point pentathlon barrier in Indianapolis.

[9] 2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships USATF

[10] 2022 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships USATF

[11] 2020 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships Results - 2/7/2020 United States Naval Academy, Wesley A Brown Field House, Santee Road, Annapolis, MD, USA USATF

[12] 2018 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships Results - 2/16/2018 to 2/18/2018 Albuquerque Convention Center Archived June 28, 2018, at the Wayback Machine USATF

[13] UCSB's Bender finishes fourth at NCAAs Santa Barbara News-Press

[14] UCSB’s Hope Bender Named Athlete of Meet at Big West Championships Noozhawk

[15] Episode 6- Hopetathlon (featuring Hope Bender) Up, Up, & Olé

[16] Hope springs forward for Newport Harbor Los Angeles Times

[17] Newport Harbor HS Tars /Sailors - Newport Beach, CA - Hope Bender Track & Field Athletic.net

[18] Episode 6- Hopetathlon (featuring Hope Bender) Up, Up, & Olé - May 2019

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