The Honorable Levern Spencer
Levern Spencer’s achievement of representing St Lucia in four Olympics, eight outdoor World Championships, four indoor World Championships, and five Commonwealth Games as a high jumper in a 23-year career has been recognized by her country with the prefix “the Honorable” added to her name. It happened at the 2025 Investiture Ceremony.
Levern reacted: “What a joy and a privilege it was to have my country’s second highest award, The St. Lucia Cross. Surely, when at age 14, I commenced my 23-year-long Journey, representing my country in the field of Sports, I did not see such a day coming, and so I embrace this occasion with a great degree of satisfaction and a sense of fulfilment.
“I therefore believe that such an achievement warrants that I take the opportunity to continue to thank the many persons and institutions who supported me on this long and fulfilling journey. It goes without saying that your partnership with me made it all happen, and for that, I will be forever grateful”. Having known Levern for many years, and seen her in, I think, 17 of those championships, I share her delight at the award.
I remember clearly the first conversation I had with her. It was in Brussels 2017, the year there was a power failure leaving much of the stadium in darkness. On the way to the stadium, I had read in Mark Butler’s excellent biographies that Levern Spencer was a committed Christian. As I have an interest in athletes of faith, I made a note to speak to her afterwards. I missed her because of the chaos in a dark mixed zone. Later I boarded the bus back to the hotel. The bus was full with just one seat remaining – next to Levern!
When she retired, she posted on social media: “Well as it turned out, my final jump at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was indeed my final jump in the event of high-jump, in the sport of track and field. After a journey of 23 consecutive years, this skinny introvert from the sub-urban community of Babonneau in the tiny island of St. Lucia with a population of 180,000, has decided to hang up her spikes and officially end her journey in the sport of track and field, and what a journey it was”.
The following extracts from a Q and A article I did on her in 2020, give you a flavor of the athlete and the person:
Career highlights?
I have a lot of highlights and a lot of good achievements. The two most important ones were the 2018 Commonwealth Games where I created history by being the first St Lucian to win a Commonwealth gold medal and in 2016 when I became the first St Lucian to make an Olympic final. Those would be two of the major highlights.
Disappointments?
I wouldn’t call it a disappointment but one thing, if I could go back and do something differently, I would try to get access to a world class facility and training earlier. I wish I could have started working on my technique at a younger age. I did not start high jumping until I was 14 but I didn’t get proper coaching and training until I was 20, which is very late. So if I could change one thing it would be to get world class facilities earlier so that I could improve my technique at an earlier age.
Is it a frustration that you never quite made the magic two meters?
I don’t want to say ‘frustration’. Yes, my PR is 1.98 but I got so close to two meters a number of times. 1.98 is not far off two meters but somehow two meters puts you in another class. Everyone wants to get to the two-meter mark. I would have loved to get a PR but I’ll still be happy with my career and what I have achieved throughout the years. I’ve seen some athletes clear 2 meters and then never do it again. When you have a high PR it is harder to beat it.
What was the secret of your longevity?
With my manager I formulated a motto: God + hard work + discipline = success. I have used that motto throughout my career. Anything that I have achieved so far was all God’s doing – not through my own strength, but because God allowed it to happen. I stress hard work because nothing in life comes easily, you have to work hard. Disciplined means accepting a lot of sacrifice. And I think that all three embody success. Throughout my career the motto motivated me and pushed me to keep going in the sport. I did the little things that I needed to do on my own to minimize injuries – like going to a chiropractor, having massages or doing extra stretching, just to keep my body in the best possible shape I could. It enabled me to compete for 23 consecutive seasons without having any major injuries. I didn’t have to sit out any seasons and I’m thankful that God kept me going this long.
