Western Kentucky Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Brent Chumbley has named 2016 Olympic gold medalist Jeff Henderson as the Hilltoppers’ new assistant coach.

Henderson, who won the gold in the long jump at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games for Team USA, will coach WKU’s sprints, jumps and hurdles group.

“We are excited to welcome coach Henderson to our program,” Chumbley said in a news release. “He will be an outstanding addition to our staff. He is obviously a little more jumps-heavy with experience, but you don’t get there without a great sprint background. The team is as excited as the staff is to get him on campus and get started.”

Henderson spent last season at Arkansas-Little Rock, helping the men to both the indoor and outdoor Ohio Valley Conference titles. A record eight athletes qualified for NCAA West Prelims for Little Rock last season.

“I am truly honored to join coach Chumbley’s staff and the WKU track & field program,” Henderson said in a news release. “The opportunity to work with a dedicated team and contribute to the success and growth of our athletes is a privilege. I am excited to bring my years of experience to Western Kentucky University and committed to making this program the best in the nation.”

A 2012 graduate of Stillman College, Henderson is an Olympic gold medalist and has won the long jump at U.S. Championships three times (2014, 2016, 2018). He also earned a silver medal at the World Championships in Doha in 2019. He has been a member of Team USA for four World Championships. At the 2015 Pan American Games, Henderson won gold in the long jump after recording a personal best of 8.58 meters.

Henderson is a member of the Stillman College Hall of Fame, as well as the SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) Hall of Fame. He won two NCAA Division II national championships during his career (2013 long jump, 2013 100 meters) at Stillman and was named the SIAC West Division Track Athlete of the Year, and Field Athlete of the Year, in 2013.

A native of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Henderson set the Arkansas high school state record in the triple jump and decathlon 100 meters. He won five national championships at Hinds Community College before transferring to Stillman.