A day after the U.S. failed to win a gold medal in a single day for the first time since 2008, Christian Taylor made sure it wasn’t going to happen again. He leaped 17.86 meters (58’5.25) to win his second consecutive gold medal in the event.
2016 Olympics, track and field results: Christian Taylor and Will Claye finish 1-2 for U.S. sweep in triple jump
The U.S. picked up more hardware in the triple jump and got its first medal in the women’s 1,500 meters on Tuesday in Rio.
Team USA wasn’t done there, though. Will Claye, who finished second behind Taylor in London, won silver again with a leap of 17.76 meters, giving the U.S. another 1-2 sweep. China’s Dong Bin won bronze with a jump of 17.58 meters.
Claye wasn’t done with his day, however. He proposed to his girlfriend, fellow track athlete Queen Harrison, after the event -- he wasn’t quite sure whether she said “yes” at first, but she did.
Here are all the other big stories from the track on Tuesday in Rio:
Jenny Simpson wins first U.S. medal in women’s 1,500 meters
Simpson finished third in the women’s 1,500 meters as Kenyan Faith Kipyegon picked up a stunning upset win over world record holder Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, who finished second. Simpson won the world title in 2011 and a silver medal at the world championships in 2013, but Olympic glory had eluded her. She kicked down the field in the final 100 meters to win bronze on Tuesday. She wasn’t the only American to run an amazing race -- 1,500-meter American record holder Shannon Rowbury finished just behind Simpson in fourth.
Jamaica gets first gold medal in 110 hurdles as Devon Allen finishes fifth
Allen, an Oregon football star, couldn’t find his footing as he finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles, but Jamaica’s Omar McLeod did. McLeod raced to a 13.05-second win in the 110 hurdles, becoming the first Jamaican to ever win the event at the Games. While the rest of the field hit and knocked over a fair amount of hurdles, McLeod was perfect over each one, barely grazing any of them.
Former Indiana Hoosier Derek Drouin wins gold in men’s high jump
The Canadian was the only athlete to jump over the bar at 2.38 meters, and Drouin won gold to match his 2015 world championship. There was some tension as Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko decided to pass on 2.38 to make one final attempt to stick with Drouin at a new height, but the Ukranian missed his attempt at 2.40 meters and Drouin was golden. Bondarenko finished third, as Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim won silver with a leap of 2.36 meters.
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