Triple Jump, Men

The favorite coming in was American Christian Taylor, the 2011 World Champion. Also highly considered was Great Britain jumper Phillips Idowu, but he would not get past the qualifying round, likely due to the effects of a hip injury. Also missing was France’s Teddy Tamgho, the third longest jumper of all-time, but he could not compete in London due to an ankle injury.

In the final Taylor got off to a shaky start, fouling his first two jumps, having difficult with the ultra-quick runway. The first round leader was Italian Fabrizio Donato with 17.38. He improved that to 17.44 in the second round, but that only put him into second as the United States’ Will Claye was the first jumper in the order and had taken the lead with 17.54. Taylor got through to the final with 17.15 in round three, moving into fifth place, and Donato improved again, posting 17.45, although he remained in second behind Claye. In the final rounds, Taylor opened with 17.81, a mark that would put him into the lead and eventually win him the gold medal. Claye, jumping last in the final order, responded with 17.62 which would be his best mark and cement the silver medal. Donato would continue to improve, posting 17.48 in the fourth round, and he would finish third to complete the podium. The final two rounds were anti-climactic as none of the leaders improved their marks.

Taylor was the first American to win the triple jump since Kenny Harrison in 1996. Claye had already finished third in the long jump in London, making him the first man to win medals in both horizontal jumps since Japan’s Naoto Tajima in 1936.