ROSEMONT, Ill. – Redshirt junior high jumper and national champion Rose Yeboah was named the women's Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Thursday (June 13). Yeboah is the first Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year in the women's program's history; Olympic medalist Ashley Spencer took home the honors for Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year in 2013.
"Rose's performance is at a world class level and the Big Ten made the right pick." said director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou. "It goes without saying that this is the standard we want to compete at. Even though it will take time to establish, Rose wasted no time showing the world where the Illini women's track and field team is headed. We are all so proud of her!"
Yeboah recently captured a national title in the high jump with a NCAA Outdoor Championships and program-record leap of 1.97m (6-5 1/2). With this mark, she automatically qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, at which she will represent her home country of Ghana.
Not only is Yeboah the program's first women's high jump national champion, but she is also the women's program's first-ever field event national champion. The last Orange and Blue female Illini to win a national title was Spencer's 400m in 2013.
Prior to her national title, Yeboah took home high jump gold at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, clearing 1.82m (5-11 1/2). She became the program's fifth Big Ten champion and first to stand atop the podium in 26 years; Stacy Ann Grant was the last to do so in 1998.
Rose now turns her attention to the 2024 African Championships which run from June 21-26 before she heads to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games on July 26 - Aug. 11.
