By Allan Johnstone
Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic was triple jumper Christian Taylor’s 14th time competing at Hayward Field, and because it was his last before the stadium’s renovation, he wanted it to be special. So he talked to Nike, who sponsors him.
“They asked me what is special about Pre, and I responded with the fans,” said Taylor.
So Nike created custom shoes for Taylor, and he used them to defend his Pre Classic title with a jump of 58 feet, 2 inches on his final attempt. He beat his former University of Florida teammate Will Claye, who had jumped 57-3 1/4 on his fifth attempt to move into the lead.
“That is my style,” Taylor said. “I’m used to it — I like to put on a show. Will and I have been doing this since our Florida days.”
Taylor’s shoes are light blue to reflect what the weather can look like in Eugene accented by the actual audio file from his winning jump at Hayward field last year. The audio waves spike when the fans were clapping, drop to show the silence when he was mid jump and rise again for the eruption of applause after he jumped 59 feet, 1/2 inches last year. To finish it off, on the inside of the tongue there is a picture of the east grand stands.
Taylor had a strong outing in his new shoes, not fouling on a single attempt and managing to stay close to the top of the pack the entire event. He never led until his final jump.
“I was quite surprised myself,” Taylor jokingly admitted. “But if I’m pushed, I rise to the occasion.”
This season, because there is no Olympic or world championship at stake, Taylor is de-emphasizing jumping in favor of sprint training. His goal is to run 44 seconds in the 400.
“Most of the time I’m doing a lot of 500s and 400s, just really trying to get this magical number in the 400,” he said.
He completed his first 400-meter race earlier this month in the Shanghai, placing fifth overall with a time of 45.24.
“I ran really well in Shanghai,” said Taylor. “And this is just a year that we can recharge and have some fun, and I am really taking advantage of that.”
