The medalists lined up on their first jumps, the order unchanged by the time they finished the men’s triple jump final Monday in Rio.
USA finished 1-2, with Christian Taylor snaring gold with a 17.86m first jump, and teammate Will Claye taking silver. China’s Bin Dong took bronze.
That’s the same 1-2 as London in 2012, something that’s never happened in 120 years of triple jump at the Olympics. Taylor becomes the first back-to-back gold winner since Viktor Saneyev of the USSR won three-straight between 1968-1976.
Dong started the final off with a bang, launching forward with a personal best 17.58m jump in his first attempt.
But Taylor responded with vigor, opening his final with a jump of nearly 59 feet (17.86m). It was on, and American teammate Claye nearly matched him with a 17.76 on his first jump.