Will Claye facts for kids
Claye at the 2011 World Championships Athletics in Daegu
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Tucson, Arizona, United States |
June 13, 1991 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 11 in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 160 lb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Triple jump, long jump | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turned pro | 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Jeremy Fischer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Will Claye (born June 13, 1991) is an American track and field athlete of Sierra Leonean descent who competes in the long jump and triple jump. He won a bronze medal in 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the gold medals at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships and 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships. In his Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Claye won a bronze medal in long jump and a silver medal in triple jump. He repeated his silver medal in the triple jump four years later. His personal best of 18.14 m (59 ft 6.04822835 in), set at the Jim Bush Southern California USATF Championships in Long Beach on June 29, 2019, ranks him as the No. 4 triple jumper of all time.
Will was two-time Arizona Interscholastic Association high school champion in the triple jump, establishing a new state record of over 50 feet. He attended Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was named to the 2008 USA Today's All-USA Team in both jumps. Claye enrolled early at the University of Oklahoma, but later transferred to the University of Florida.
Will Claye later went on to record the rap song "IDGAF" with YG.
Contents
Career
College career
While attending the University of Oklahoma, Claye competed for the Oklahoma Sooners men's track and field team. He won the 2009 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the triple jump on his 18th birthday, establishing a new American junior record of 56 ft 4.75 in (17.19 m). During his second year at Oklahoma, Claye's performance dropped off due to stress fractures in his back and leg. After the 2010 outdoor season, he transferred to the University of Florida to join defending outdoor champion Christian Taylor and training under legendary jumps coach Dick Booth. The collegiate 2011 indoor season was capped by Florida winning the NCAA Indoor National Championship, thanks to Coach Booth's jumpers scoring 30 of the Gators' 52 points, led by Claye's national title in the triple jump and his runner-up finish in the long jump.
Claye finished second at the 2011 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships behind Taylor. The two went on to finish in the same order at the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Claye finished his collegiate career at Florida, after his junior year, ending with eight "All American" honors and with two NCAA titles (the 2009 outdoor triple jump title and the 2011 indoor title); he won both the triple and long jumps at the 2011 SEC Championships.
2011 World Championships
In 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, Claye was 9th in long jump and 3rd in triple jump. Claye, and Gator teammate Christian Taylor, withdrew from the University of Florida after the 2011 Worlds, and turned professional in order to concentrate on preparing for the 2012 London Olympics. He is sponsored by Nike and is training under the direction of Martin Smith.
2012 Olympic Year
Claye established the early, indoor season, leading mark in the triple jump of 57 ft 0.75 in (17.39 m) at the 2012 Tyson Invitational on February 11 in Fayetteville, Arkansas (his only valid jump in the elite competition). At the 2012 USA Indoor Championships in February Claye not only won the triple jump, but he exceeded 57 feet on 3 consecutive jumps, finishing with a world-leading mark of 57 ft 10.25 in (17.63 m). In addition, Claye finished second in the long jump with a mark of 26 ft 3.75 in (8.02 m). He went on to claim his first world title at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He won the triple jump ahead of Christian Taylor with a clearance of 17.70 m and also placed fourth in the long jump. In the outdoor season, he began with runner-up finishes at both the Shanghai and Eugene legs of the 2012 Diamond League.
At the 2012 London Olympics Claye first won the bronze medal in long jump, then followed up by winning the silver medal in triple jump five days later. He is the first man to win medals in both the long and triple jumps at the same Olympics since Naoto Tajima of Japan at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics.
2013 World Championships
In 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Claye triple jumped 17.52 m (57 ft 5.63877953 in) (Wind: +0.5 m/s).
2015 World Championships
In 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, Claye triple jumped 16.41 m (53 ft 9.93799213 in) (Wind: +0.2 m/s).
2016 Olympic Year
In Summer Olympics, Claye triple jumped 17.76 m (58 ft 3.08759843 in) (Wind: +0.4 m/s) to earn a silver medal.
Major competition record
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes | |
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Representing the United States | ||||||
2009 | Pan American Junior Championships | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 1st | Triple jump | 16.57 m | |
2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 9th | Long jump | 8.10 m | |
3rd | Triple jump | 17.50 m | ||||
2012 | World Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 4th | Long jump | 8.04 m | |
1st | Triple jump | 17.70 m | ||||
Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 3rd | Long jump | 8.12 m | ||
2nd | Triple jump | 17.62 m | ||||
2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 3rd | Triple jump | 17.52 m | |
2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 19th (q) | Triple jump | 16.41 m | |
2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.76 m | |
2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.63 m | |
2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | Triple jump | 17.43 m | |
2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.74 m | |
2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 4th | Triple jump | 17.44 m | |
2022 | World Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 4th | Triple jump | 17.19 m | |
World Championships | Eugene, United States | 11th | Triple jump | 16.54 m | ||
2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 7th | Triple jump | 16.99 m |
USA National Track and field Championships
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
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2021 | United States Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | Triple jump | 17.21 m (56 ft 5.43405512 in) |
24th | Long jump | 7.18 m (23 ft 6.55216536 in) | |||
2019 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Des Moines, Iowa | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.70 m (58 ft 0.72539370 in) |
2nd | Long jump | 8.06 m (26 ft 5.19783465 in) | |||
2018 | USA Indoor Track and Field Championships | Albuquerque Convention Center Albuquerque, New Mexico | 1st | Triple jump | 17.28 m (56 ft 8.18996063 in) |
2017 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Sacramento, California | 1st | Triple jump | 17.91 m (58 ft 8.99311024 in) |
2016 | USA Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 3rd | Long jump | 8.42 m (27 ft 7.37106300 in) |
1st | Triple jump | 17.65 m (57 ft 10.75688977 in) | |||
2015 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.48 m (57 ft 4.06397638 in) |
2015 | USA Indoor Track and Field Championships | Reggie Lewis Center Boston, MA | DNS | Triple jump | DNS |
2014 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Hornet Stadium (Sacramento) Sacramento, California | 1st | Triple jump | 17.75 m (58 ft 2.69389764 in) |
2014 | USA Indoor Track and Field Championships | Albuquerque Convention Center Albuquerque, New Mexico | 5th | Long jump | 7.83 m (25 ft 8.14271654 in) |
2013 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Iowa | 7th | Long jump | 8.05 m (26 ft 4.80413386 in) |
2nd | Triple jump | 17.04 m (55 ft 10.74114174 in) | |||
2012 | USA Track and Field Olympic Trials | Hayward Field Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.55 m (57 ft 6.81988189 in) |
2nd | Long jump | 8.23 m (26 ft 11.89074804 in) | |||
2012 | USA Indoor Track and Field Championships | Albuquerque Convention Center Albuquerque, New Mexico | 1st | Triple jump | 17.63 m (57 ft 9.96948819 in) |
1st | Long jump | 8.02 m (26 ft 3.62303150 in) | |||
2011 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.09 m (56 ft 0.70964567 in) |
2nd | Long jump | 8.19 m (26 ft 10.31594489 in) | |||
2009 | USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | Long jump | 7.80 m (25 ft 6.96161418 in) |
1st | Triple jump | 17.14 m (56 ft 2.67814961 in) | |||
2008 | USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Columbus, Ohio | DNS | Triple jump | DNS |
DNS | Long jump | DNS |
Personal bests
Event | Best (m) | Venue | Date |
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Triple jump (outdoor) | 18.14 | Long Beach, United States | June 29, 2019 |
Triple jump (indoor) | 17.70 | Istanbul, Turkey | March 11, 2012 |
Long jump (outdoor) | 8.29 | Athens, Georgia | May 14, 2011 |
Long jump (indoor) | 8.24 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | February 10, 2012 |
- All information taken from IAAF profile.
See also
In Spanish: Will Claye para niños
- Florida Gators
- List of Olympic medalists in athletics (men)
- List of University of Florida Olympians