Want to set something that will stand for another 20-plus years: Christian Taylor

The triple jump World and Olympic records of 18.29m and 18.09m, respectively, have stood for more than 20 years. What are the reasons that they have not been broken for so long? How close are you from breaking them?

(Laughs) As of now, I am 8 cms from tying it (WR) and 9 cms from breaking it. The reason it has stood that long it is it a great feat. It is all making it come together at the right time, getting that tailwind, hitting the board properly, and it's just little things putting together. It's a World Record because it is the best that's ever been done. I have so much respect for the distance, for the actual action, and this is why I am training day in and day out. This is what motivates me every single day because I do have my eyes on the prize, I am stepping up to that challenge. When you see what actually was, and for me to be so close (18.21m in Beijing in 2015) and it still feels so far away. It just gains even more respect because on my best day, I still fell a little short. I think there are jumpers that are capable of doing it and you see myself, Teddy (Tamgho), (Pedro) Pichardo all going 18m and above. Hopefully, this is the year that (WR) happens and in Rio, why not take it down at the Games? That's what it is all about. Big performances at the big championships.

How does it feel going into the Olympics as a defender and not a challenger?

This is what it is about. My mindset is going to be 'medals are earned, not given and whoever wants it the most is the most prepared and stays healthiest'. At the same time, when you are defending a title, you stay a little taller and hopefully have a lot of passion. I think it is going to give me a little more strength, a little more confidence. Hopefully, I can still keep that fire, keep that hunger and also use that extra push that being a defending champion is something I am going to be proud of. For sure, it gives me a little more nerves leading up to it because with expectations come pressure and I have been here before and people are going to expect something special and I don't have that rookie experience, I don't have that inexperience of being my first championships. I have always been someone going into competitions and championships saying there is no excuse and to leave it all on the track and that is what I am planning to do in Rio.

Have you had conversations with Jonathan Edwards? He tweeted last year after you did 18.21m that you gave him a scare.

Thanks to the social media, to see him commentating on the jump and to see his reaction was very exciting. Maybe, I have finally got his attention. He knows that there is somebody that is chasing it very hard. On the conversation side, I get random tweets here and there, and to see actually his bio change from 'triple jump world record holder' to 'triple jump world record holder - just', to me that is very exciting because he sees that is in jeopardy. Records are meant to be broken and it has stood for a long time. I would have loved to break it in the 20th anniversary (2015). Why not do it in its 21st year? Hopefully, I can go out there and change it and set something that will stand for another 20-plus years. That is the challenge I have set for myself.

Do you look at the WR every single time you are at the start of the run up?

Honestly, my mindset is to jump to win. That's something that (coach) Rana Reider has done such a good job with. Sometimes, I chase numbers and he says, 'you are focussing on the wrong thing'. He says 'first win the competition and if it takes a world record, then it's fine'. When I get on the  runway, I go with 'anything you could do, I could do better'.

Despite being an Olympic champion, do you find yourself in the shadow of Usain Bolt, Mo Farah and others?

It did not come easy. I speak about challenges in the other jumpers and am really grateful for the high jumpers, going after the WR and jumping higher week after week. If high jump can become a main event, why can't we (triple jumpers)? Everyone has done 18 metres between Teddy, Pichardo and myself and why can't we do that every week? In Rio, the schedule is not in favour of us. We have two morning sessions back to back. Hopefully, the attention will still be there and we can still get some spotlight. Triple jump is really an interactive event.

In triple jump, Viktor Saneyev of (erstwhile) Soviet Union won three Olympic gold medals (1968, 1973, 1976) and a silver (1980). How much does it take to win more than one gold medal in your sport?

To be honest, to win one (gold) is a lifetime feat. This is you being the best on your day every four years. Careers are made and broken just trying for the Olympics, let alone at the Olympic Games. To win one medal, when you see the per centages of people that tried the sport and the per centages of people that do it professionally, it is an amazing feat. And that is why you get the love and respect when you are an Olympian alone, let alone return with whatever colour of the medal. To win three or four medals at the Olympics, I can't say it is impossible because there are people that do it. I am working on getting a second one and that seems like a lifetime goal. And, I have utmost respect for anyone with two golds at the Olympics. That's phenomenal.

Some tickets for 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships in London have been priced at £18.29 (after Edwards's record). That gives you an year to embarrass them by breaking that record...

The idea and concept is very unique and that is very special. I have got some of my fans to get the tickets just to remember. Hopefully, I can look back at it and say, 'remember when the ticket was sold for that and that was the world record', and hopefully I can say 'this is the new mark'. I thought that concept is very very cool.

You did not take part in indoor competitions since 2012. Do you have a problem jumping with walls around you?

I am not the biggest fan of indoors just because the preparation is so short. I start my training in November and we are talking 8-10 weeks and I am expected to go out competing. I enjoy competing and I enjoy my season but I give 100 per cent in my season and I also enjoy so much in off-season. After the competitions, I'd like to take at least 6-7 weeks off and that's mentally and physically, and to come back and go and compete in the indoor can have negative impact on outdoor. At the end of the day, people remember Olympic champs and world champs. That's what it is all about. The year 2012 was nice. I was coming off my first professional season after my debut season, I was riding on a high. I was competiting non-stop and that was a long season. So my coach and I sat back and decided that if I was not able to give 100 per cent indoors, step back and add another three or four weeks of training and be ready for the (outdoor) season.

How do you unwind from competitions? 

It's very easy. Once the competition is over, it is over for me physically and mentally. Good or bad, I go back to the hotel and then, that's it. In Doha (May 2015), I could not unwind, I was just pacing around in my room and turning around in my sofa because I just jumped 18m (18.04m) and there were questions whether I will be able to hold it throughout the season and Beijing (Word Championships) was so far away (August 2015). There's so much excitement. Normally, I am able to go back and have dinner with my friends and talk about regular life, and watch funny movies. I am very good at turning off that switch when I am off the track and become another 25-year-old guy. A at the end of the day, it is a sport and when you are off the track, just be a regular person.

Last year’s triple jump in Doha was an unforgettable event. Do you think history could repeat itself and we could have another great competition next week (May 6)?

I like to believe every time we step on the track, it’s going to be something special. Last year I was trying to make it the year of the jumps, and Pichardo (18.06m) and I (18.04m) did a wonderful job. It was very unfortunate that Teddy (Tamgho) went down (injured) in Doha, but that’s part of the sport. When you’re pushing your body to the limit, anything can happen. The great thing is he’s back, and that’s really exciting. We can all step on the track together.

I don’t really know what Pichardo is doing, but he’s a young guy, and when he shows up, it’s going to be something special. I enjoy the competition, rising to the occasion. I'm really hoping Pichardo makes an appearance there too, but as of now I believe it will be myself and Teddy as the big headliners.

Teddy has shown he’s back indoors. (Tamgho returned from injury by jumping 16.98m in Aubiere in February). We were both down in Sarasota, Florida, at the IMG Academy the last few weeks and got to do some training. To see him running around down here, it’s very exciting for me.

I don’t like to put distances out there, but it’s possible to have another 18m showing. I like to just go and compete, surprise myself and the fans, I don’t want to leave it to the last jump, but if need be, that’s what I’m ready for.
Hopefully, Teddy is ready to bring a show and I’m ready to challenge him, and everyone else in the field too. Let’s bring eyes to the triple jump. We work so hard to make the triple jump a premier event, so why not use the spotlight and run with it.

Ever since you turned professional in 2011, you’ve been prolific on the IAAF Diamond League circuit and always used it to prepare for major championships. How important will it be for you this year leading up to the Olympics?

I’m so grateful for a league like this, a circuit like this. It brings together all the top athletes. Everyone who is in the Diamond League are the people who are in Worlds or Olympic finals. For me, mentally, it helped me get my head around belonging. If I can compete with these guys week after week, then I know what will come in August.

I know the performances will be different – obviously special things happen at championships – but I know I can compete with the best. I’m so grateful for the Diamond League because it shows me where I stand with the rest of the world. I’ve been very fortunate the last four years to be part of it and to win the overall competition. If I’m able to compete with the best in the world to that point, then hopefully my confidence will be through the roof. Hopefully I’ll be jumping 18m again by this point of the season, then take that energy to the (US Olympic) Trials and prepare myself for Rio.

Is there anything you have done differently in training this year?

The biggest difference is the speed. I feel my strength as I’m getting older is speed. I’ve always been very young in the event, and have been able to get away with a lot of imperfections. The jumps weren’t always the prettiest, but because I was one of the faster jumpers, I was able to pull through. Now that the strength is catching up with it, I can continue to challenge myself to get faster and faster. We’ve incorporated a lot more speed work this year. I was always a big fan of doing things that were very comfortable for me. It was mentally testing, but not giving me what I really needed to maximise my 40 metres on the runway. Now I’ve been doing a lot of fast explosion, runs and lifts. It’s a 100-metre, 200-metre mindset, and hopefully I can use that turnover and training on the runway. It’s about being the fastest athlete I could be. At the end of the day, speed wins, so the faster you are, the further you will jump.

As a member of (coach) Rana Reider’s group, you train with athletes from all over the world, including Dafne Schippers (Dutch women's 200m world champion). How does it help having such a multi-national group training together and how do you benefit from each other?

I actually don’t train with Dafne too much as she’s on the girls’ side and focuses on sprints, but Shara Proctor (British women's long jumper) and I train a lot together because we’re the only jumpers. Having Rana being with the Dutch federation, and training with guys like Churandy Martina (Dutch sprinter) and Dafne, that’s pretty cool.

For this year, it’s about fine tuning the speed aspect. To be training with someone who’s running 21 seconds (for 200m), Dafne is just an incredible athlete. I hate to say it, but because of pride, every run I do, everything I do around her, I can hustle, no matter what.

Having someone like that changes your training mentality. Sometimes with the guys, you say: ‘this guy has run nine seconds (for 100m) or 19 seconds (for 200m) so it’s expected', but no matter what Dafne runs, I cannot let her beat me. It adds a lot more fun to it. It takes all that pressure off jumping, because it becomes about my pride, my ego. It’s phenomenal to be around world-class athetes day in, day out, and it’s going to really benefit me in the long run.

You spoke a lot last year about adjusting to your new take-off leg, and now that you’ve had a full year to do it, do you feel a lot more comfortable?

The first year of changing legs (2014) was a little rocky, a little rough, but I was grateful to have that off-year. To be able to jump further off the new leg was a huge confidence booster. To be able to say I almost jumped 18 metres off both legs is great.

My weak leg is no longer my (take) off leg. Now, it’s truly my best leg. Getting back into training is weird, because now jumping off my (left) leg – which was my dominant leg for 10 years – is off and feels weird. My coach and I sit there and laugh, wondering how I can jump for 10 years off one leg, then jump a year off the other one, and lose that balance, co-ordination. The confidence is definitely there with the new jumping leg. It’s very natural now.

If you are going to make the change, just go for it. When you are going for a change, you have no barriers. Everything is personal best, everything is exciting and new.

(G Krishnan was part of the international media conference call arranged by IAAF)

KNOW TAYLOR

Born: June 18, 1990 in Georgia, USA
National Team: USA
Personal best: 18.21m in 2015 Beijing Worlds, second longest jump in history of triple jump after Jonathan Edwards's 18.29m
Coached by Rana Reider
Training base: Florida

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Gold in 2012 London Olympics (17.81m)
Gold in 2015 World Championships (18.21m)
Gold in 2011 Daegu World Championships (17.96m)

DID YOU KNOW

*** Taylor took part in 400m, long jump and triple jump in his formative years before turning a triple jump professional. He was also part of USA's 4x400m gold medal winning relay team in 2014 World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas

*** He was once upon  a time the boyfriend of  Kelly Murphy, the US national volleyball player. He says he is single now

FOR THE RECORD:

World Record: 18.29m set by Jonathan Edwards (Britain) in 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg
Olympic Record: 18.09m by Kenny Harrison (USA) in 1996 Atlanta Games