LONDON – Even though he competes under the Stars & Stripes and not the Broken Trident, Barbados is never far from the thoughts or heart of newly crowned Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor.
Moments after winning the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games on Thursday night he told journalists: “It’s an absolute blessing. My family from America are here, my family from Barbados have come here and it felt great.”
Later, as he was leaving the conference room after fielding the questions of both print and broadcast media from across the world, the 22-year-old paused for a very brief interview with the SATURDAY SUN, smiling broadly when he saw the Barbados Olympic Association logo.
“I have to thank them,” he said, of his family and supporters back in Barbados. “That’s my blood. That’s where my heart is. That’s where I’m from.
“I have to thank you for all of the support you guys have given me and the daily news. I have family in Christ Church. I have family in St Philip, so you know I’m always pushing for Barbados when Ryan Brathwaite is running, when Shane Brathwaite is going, anybody.
“When I see that Barbados flag, it has a special place in my heart,” said Taylor who also has a trident on his shoes.
Born in the United States to Barbadian parents, Taylor has steadily been making a name for himself (see Factfile on Page 27) on the international scene. He won the World Championships title last year and added Olympic gold on Thursday with a leap of 17.81 metres.
Training partner and close friend Will Claye was second with 17.62 metres to give the United States the one-two. Veteran Fabrizio Donato of Italy held on for the bronze medal with 17.48 in his fourth Olympic appearance.
It almost didn’t happen. After making a big leap on his first attempt which was a foul, Taylor followed that up with a second foul. If he didn’t make a decent mark on the next attempt, he would not be among the final eight going for the medals.
He produced 17.15 on the last chance and qualified fifth for the final and on that very first leap in the finals, he hopped, skipped and jumped to the winning mark.
One of Taylor’s goals will be going after Briton Jonathan Edwards’ World record of 18.29, but he says only “God knows when that is going to happen”.
Taylor, who trains at the Garrison Savannah when he is in Barbados, gave similar advice to Barbadian children who might have seen his performance and were inspired, telling them to “keep going”.
