Christian Taylor, a two-time state champion with the Sandy Creek High School track team and current senior at the University of Florida and member of their track team, recently won a world title in the triple jump in Daegu, South Korea.
“I’ve been working towards this from the beginning,” said Taylor. “Any athlete wants Olympic gold and this is the closest thing for me so far.”
With his jump of 58-feet-11.25-inches (17.96 meters), Taylor announced his presence on the world stage and his intention for contending for a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London next summer.
Taylor’s jump at the world championships was a personal best and he feels that his run leading up to that jump was the biggest contributor to the win.
“It doesn’t get much better than setting your personal best at the world championships,” Taylor said, adding that he expected big things at the event. “I didn’t travel that far to go for second place.”
Taylor and his coaches outline the goals for each year and now, with a world title under his belt, the goal for next year is a new personal best and a gold medal in London.
“I participated in a meet in London (London Grand Prix) and did well. (He won with a jump of 17.68 meters). That’s when I knew I could hang with these guys and I showed I was ready.”
Taylor won back-to-back NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in 2010 and 2011 and won his first USA Outdoor national title before winning the world title.
Taylor, majoring in Hospitality and Tourism at Florida, got a huge response from friends and family after his win in Korea.
“Even people I didn’t know at school were commenting because I did the Gator chomp after my jump,” Taylor said. Taylor’s father was in the stands at the world championships and that was special for him as well.
“He saw the potential in me from a very young age and I started to see it too,” Taylor said.
Taylor will compete at the World Indoors and other events leading up to the Olympics. His goal is to not do too much so that he is peaking at the right time and brings home the gold.
