Bobbi Waldner was a
dominating high jumper among women in Canada, winning at the
Saskatchewan high school level, setting a University of Saskatchewan
record which still stands today, and competing for Canada at least a
dozen times.
Bobbi was born in
Saskatoon, began competing in school track meets at the age of six and
at first, participated in the sprints, jumps and throws.
She was presented with
the gold medal at the 1986 Saskatchewan high school championships, one
of six provincial championships she won for the Saskatoon district.
In her first Canada
West university championships in 1987, she finished third with a height
of 1.69 metres in the meet at Edmonton. . She was a member of the
University of Saskatchewan team, which won the Canada West title in
1987-88. Bobbi’s 1987 season also included a performance at the Western
Canada Summer Games where she won the high jump at 1.70 metres
She received the Valerie
Gersberger trophy at the university’s awards banquet, a fitting tribute
to an athlete who won three Canada West gold medals, was twice a
medallist at the Canadian finals and set the University of Saskatchewan
record at 1.81 metres.
Bobbi also competed in
the 1989 Jeux Canada Summer Games, which were held in Saskatoon, and she
won a silver medal with a height of 1.79 metres.
She was a member of the
1988 Canada Espoir team, which competed against athletes from France,
West Germany and Poland.
During the 1992 season,
Bobbi reached a personal best of 1.85 metres at the Harry Jerome
Invitational, and she came back to Saskatchewan to reach another
personal best of 1.86 metres.
As an eight-time
medallist at Canadian senior championships, she also became a member of
the Canadian team at the Jeux de la Francophone Games in Paris, France,
where she placed fifth with a jump of 1.82 metres.
One of her most
memorable performances occurred at the 1995 Harry Jerome Invitational
meet where she competed against and beat Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kearse
with a height of 1.78 metres.