Americans Christian Taylor and Will Claye finished 1-2 in the men’s triple jump on Thursday, boosting Team USA’s medal collection in track and field. Taylor jumped 17.81 meters on his fourth attempt to set his personal best for the season and bring home gold. Claye, his teammate at Florida, earned silver with a mark of 17.62 meters.
2012 Olympics, Men’s Triple Jump Results: Christian Taylor, Will Claye Finish 1-2
After the competition, Taylor talked about how special it was to take the top two spots with his friend and teammate, via The Washington Post:
“Will and I ... It’s special to share it with him,” Taylor said. “We’re getting people to talk about the triple jump again. That’s a goal of ours.
“I definitely think the world record could come down this year, but we’re taking it one day at a time.”
The American duo is incredibly close, and referred to each other as “brothers” after their impressive showings. Claye backed up Taylor’s contention that the world record could be close to falling, via USA Today:
“We don’t get the recognition we deserve,” Claye said. “But Christian and I are bringing more attention back to the jump. ... We both have great chances at breaking the world record (18.29) and jumping those distances. God willing, we can do it.
“I feel like we need to keep doing what we’re doing and we’ll be talked about like Usain Bolt one day.”
The gold was the first medal of Taylor's Olympics career. Finishing after the two Americans was Italy's Fabrizio Donato, who jumped 17.48 meters.
For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation’s London 2012 Olympics Hub.
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