Christian Taylor will be missed at the U.S. Olympic Trials 2021

Christian Taylor will be missing from the U.S. Olympic Trials 2021 starting 18th June. He is giving them a miss due to a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered at a meet in Ostrava in May 2021. Before this, the only other career-threatening injury Christian Taylor had was in 2013, when he switched to taking off from his right leg due to knee pain.

This was quite a dramatic and courageous change, for someone who had won an Olympic gold medal in London in 2012, using his original runup and takeoff from the left leg.

His absence from Tokyo is quite a disappointment not only for him but also for fans of athletics. Both he and his fans were looking forward to him taking a shot at Jonathan Edwards' long-standing world record. Even Edwards had felt that Christian Taylor was most likely to break his record.

As things were, fans got to see less of Christian Taylor in 2020 as the Diamond League series cut the triple jump among other events, in a bid to boost the popularity of the series. Christian Taylor was vocal about his disappointment with the decision.

Christian Taylor continues to be 2nd on the all-time triple jump list by virtue of his performance at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. It remains a U.S. record till date. No U.S. athlete is likely to break this record anytime between the U.S. Olympic Trials and the Tokyo Olympics given the current form of the contenders.

Christian Taylor - was the firm favorite for gold at the Tokyo Olympics

Christian Taylor was the firm favorite not only to win the U.S. Olympic Trials but also to go all the way at the Tokyo Olympics. He was no. 1 on the World Athletics rankings for the triple jump for 2021, thanks to his gold medal-winning feat at the 2019 Doha World Championships.

He has won gold at four world championships in 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019. A rare upset was his 4th place at the world championships in 2013. He was also a double Olympic gold medallist having won the triple jump event at both the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

By strange coincidence, David Rudisha, who also won gold at the same two Olympics in 800m, is also missing the Tokyo Olympics, due to injury driven issues.

The Tokyo Olympics would have been a great way for Christian Taylor to end his spectacular career.

If not Christian Taylor - who could win triple jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials?

In Christian Taylor's absence, Will Claye is the overwhelming favorite to win the triple jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Will Claye has been second to Christian Taylor several times over the past decade.

On 4 different occasions where Christian Taylor won gold - 2012 London, 2016 Rio, 2017 London and 2019 Doha - Claye was the silver medallist. Claye is also 3rd on the all-time triple jump list by virtue of his jump at a local meet in the U.S. in 2019.

Claye survived his own injury scare in 2019 - also an Achilles injury - after the Doha championships and managed to build himself back into world class shape. However, he is yet to get back to his best form.

Without Christian Taylor - who could win the triple jump at the Tokyo Olympics?

While the U.S. Olympic Trials are perhaps a foregone conclusion barring a serious upset, the Tokyo Olympics are a slightly different matter. While Claye is a favorite to win a medal in Tokyo too, he may not necessarily get a podium finish.

Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso, who has improved tremendously over the past few years, is a good bet for gold as he continues to improve.

Hugues Fabrice-Zango is just below Claye in the World Athletics Ranking for the triple jump for 2021 as well. Notably, he was 3rd at the 2019 Doha World Championships, behind Taylor and Claye.

and Christian Taylor takes aim at Edwards's legacy