TOKYO — There are not a lot of boxes left for Vashti Cunningham to check in the high jump.
Just 23, she has won national championships and an indoor world title. An Olympic medal, preferably gold, is just about all that is left for the athlete whose parents’ feats might help explain her jumping acumen.
Her father and coach, Randall, the former N.F.L. quarterback who played mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles, used to leap over very large offensive and defensive lineman to get into the end zone. Her mother was a ballerina with the Dance Theater of Harlem, a profession that requires a good set of springs.