Benjamin Arthur "Ben" Challenger (born 7 March 1978) is an English high jump

High jump

The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....

er. His personal best jump of 2.30 metres was achieved when he won the 1999 Summer Universiade

1999 Summer Universiade

The 1999 Summer Universiade, also known as the XX Summer Universiade, took place in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.-Medal table:-Sports at the 1999 Summer Universiade:* Athletics* Basketball* Diving* Fencing* Football* Gymnastics* Judo* Sailing...

. His career highlight to date is a bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 at the 2002 Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....

.

Born in Loughborough

Loughborough

Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...

, Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, Challenger to Shepshed High School and later he studied sports science

Sports science

Sport science is a discipline that studies the application of scientific principles and techniques with the aim of improving sporting performance...

 at Loughborough University

Loughborough University

Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...

 (a course he later abandoned in favour of full time high jump training). As a youth he considered a career in basketball, and toured the US with the Leicester Riders

Leicester Riders

The Leicester Riders, officially known as the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders for sponsorship reasons, is a British professional basketball team that play in the British Basketball League...

, leading to offers from NBA talent scouts acting for US universities, which he turned down.

He is the son of the Showaddywaddy

Showaddywaddy

Showaddywaddy are a 1970s pop group from Leicester, England. They specialised in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, and dressed as Teddy Boys.-History:...

 drummer, Romeo Challenger

Romeo Challenger

Romeo Challenger is a Caribbean-born, British-based musician.Challenger was born in St Johns, Antigua, West Indies. Since 1973 he has been the drummer in the rock and roll band Showaddywaddy...

, and the brother of singer Tamzin Challenger. However, contrary to popular belief he is not the half-brother of footballer Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin , is a retired English footballer. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a goal-scoring centre forward. However, in his later years he showed his versatility by becoming an...

, who according to some incorrect sources is the son of Romeo Challenger.