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Troy Doris finishes seventh as American Taylor claims second Olympic gold
RIO DE JANEIRO – Guyanese Troy Doris finished seventh in the Triple Jump at the Rio Olympic
Troy Doris in Action.
Games yesterday as Christian Taylor of the United States retained his title, recording the longest jump of the year to claim the podium top spot.
Taylor, the defending Olympic and world champion, made his mark of 17.86 meters with his first jump, staking a claim for the gold medal that his rivals were unable to match.
His American team mate Will Claye took silver and China’s Dong Bin went home with bronze after they recorded 17.76 and 17.58 respectively, also at their first attempts.
Doris created local history when he leapt into the final of the Triple Jump. He leapt to 16.81m in the preliminaries, qualifying for the finals. “I’m excited to finally be an Olympic finalist. Time to make history,” Doris stated, in a social media video. While disappointed, Doris expressed joy at being able to take Guyana where they have never went before and he will look to improve for the next event. He was eager to hear what Guyanese had to say about his performance. He finished the competition with 16.90m to end in seventh place. The US-based Doris has a personal best effort of 17.18m.
Meanwhile, Gold medalist Taylor told reporters, “The job is done.” “I never thought on my first jump that would be the gold medal. I wanted it so much. It came together, the stars aligned.”
In what soon developed into a predictable tussle for silver and gold from within the U.S. team, the rest of the field in Rio fell behind to join the spectators watching Taylor and Claye re-enact their Olympic duel from London four years ago.
“It’s just who executes better on that day. We’re equally talented,” Claye said. “We’re all beatable. I just have to come back and get my win next time.”
Christian Taylor (USA) during the men’s triple jump final in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
A notable absentee was world silver medalist Pedro Pablo Pichardo of Cuba, who would have been a challenger for the gold having posted several marks at 18 meters and further in 2015.
The 23-year-old has reportedly struggled with an ankle injury and opted not to jump in Rio, smoothing the way for Taylor.
Taylor’s road to Rio has been a rocky one after a worsening knee injury forced him to switch his takeoff leg following his 2012 Olympic triumph, a radical move in one of the most technically challenging events in athletics.
After a “game-changing” 2015, the 26-year-old was once again clearing the 18-metre mark, making a jump of 18.21 meters at the Beijing world championships to claim second place in the all-time list behind Briton Jonathan Edwards’s 1995 world record of 18.29.
Speaking before the Games, Taylor had said the world record was within his sights but his winning mark on Tuesday fell more than 40 cms short.
“I wanted the world record but it wasn’t to be,” he said. “Now the fire burns even stronger because I know it’s in the tank.” (Reuters)
Olympic Triple Jump final results:
Rank Athlete Country Distance (m)
1 Christian Taylor United States 17.86m
2 Will Claye United States 17.76m
3 Dong Bin China 17.58m
4 Cao Shuo China 17.13m
5 Jhon Murillo Colombia 17.09m
6 Nelson Évora Portugal 17.03m
7 Troy Doris Guyana 16.90m
8 Lázaro Martínez Cuba 16.68m
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