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Will Claye Returns to the Runway, Spotlight at USATF Indoor Championships

Published by
DyeStat.com   Feb 17th 2018, 5:28pm
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Claye back in Albuquerque seeking another triple jump title

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

For Will Claye, his trip down memory lane is renewing acquaintances with a familiar runway.

But it could be a path that leads him to another IAAF World Indoor Championship.

Claye was a late addition to the men’s triple jump field Sunday at the USATF Indoor Championships in New Mexico, but despite not jumping at an indoor event since 2015 and not competing at any meet since September, the former Florida star is ready to shine under the lights again at Albuquerque Convention Center.

“This is what I do. I’m a triple jumper. Once I get back out there, it’s like clockwork. This is what I’ve done for I don’t know how long. It’s there, I’m not worried about it not being there,” said Claye, who captured the World Indoor triple jump gold medal in Istanbul, Turkey in 2012.

“That’s what gets me going. To get out there and see the crowd, I’m like, ‘Now, it’s time to go.’ I definitely feed off that. I wouldn’t say it’s something I’ve been fiending for, but I look forward to it.

“When I step out there, I’m a whole ‘nother animal. I become ‘Ill Will.’ When the lights come on, he comes out and it gets a little scary.”

Although Claye’s jumping had been limited training in Chula Vista, Calif., because of a December illness and subsequent trip to the chiropractor, when he returned to practice with his coach of nearly a decade, Jeremy Fischer, he was pleasantly surprised by the progress.

“My numbers are the best they’ve ever been as far as sprint times and my bounding and things like that. It just feels good,” said Claye, who has captured three Olympic medals and three World Outdoor Championship medals in his career.

“When I came back, I was just rolling, so I thought, ‘Let me just enter (nationals) and see how I feel and see if I can get a rhythm a bit. And then it did, it came, so I was like, ‘OK, I’ll declare.’ Then I did a couple of more bounds at practice and I was like ‘Oh man, this is kind of scary.’ This is like how I felt before Prefontaine last year.”

Among several highlights and memorable performances last year for Claye, the Prefontaine Classic in May was among the best, as he and fellow American Christian Taylor produced one of the greatest showcases in the event’s history on U.S. soil.

Taylor had the second-best triple jump in American history at 59-5 (18.11m) and Claye leaped 58-5.75 (17.82m), a mark he later improved upon by winning the USATF Outdoor title in June in Sacramento with an effort of 58-9.25 (17.91m) to elevate to the No. 4 all-time U.S. outdoor performer.

Taylor and Claye went on to take gold and silver at Worlds, duplicating their order of finish from the 2016 Olympics.
During his time away from competition since London, Claye has continued to work on his music career, promote his apparel line Elevate and plan his wedding to fellow track athlete Queen Harrison after he proposed to her during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

But after watching the 2014 and 2016 USATF and World Indoor finals, Claye decided it was time to challenge himself with another championship pursuit.

“It was cool in 2014 and 2016 to watch (Marquis Dendy and Omar Craddock) compete, but there’s always an itch when you’re watching,” said Claye, whose last appearance at the USATF Indoor Championships was in 2015 when he captured the long jump title.

“I was like, ‘Man, if I was there.’ I just think this year, it’s like, ‘Why keep passing up meets?’ Our careers are only going to be so long and we only have so many opportunities. You have to take advantage of it and make the best of it.”

Claye did just that in 2012, especially in Albuquerque. Following his career at Florida, Claye advanced to the long jump and triple jump finals at the 2011 World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea, securing a bronze medal in the latter.

In his first full year as a professional, Claye competed twice in New Mexico, winning the USATF Indoor title in the triple jump with a leap of 57-10.25 (17.63m), the fifth-best indoor effort in American history, in addition to placing second in the long jump.

Claye continued to raise his level in Istanbul, jumping an indoor personal-best 58-1 (17.70m) to ascend to the No. 3 performer in U.S. history and capture the first World Indoor triple jump gold by an American since 2006.

“It seems like yesterday, that was like the first step of my career. It was my first fully professional year, my first year on the circuit, and that year, I was just on fire and I felt like nobody can touch me right now. It was the Olympic year and I was really just focused on the Olympics and the build up to the Olympics,” Claye said. “We had a plan and it was just a stop on the way to the Olympics, but I ended up just jumping really far and winning, and I was only 5 centimeters off the American record. It just made me realize that you’re onto something.

“In 2011, coming off college, it was whatever I have left in the tank, we’ll go to Daegu and see what happens. So that was a special experience for my coach and I because it was the first real championship we had together.”

Claye went on to secure a silver medal in the triple jump and bronze in the long jump at the London Olympics, becoming the first male athlete to capture medals in both events at the same Olympics since Japan’s Naoto Tajima in Berlin in 1936.

“That was a great year. I was a baby, only 20 years old. But it was cool meeting new people and getting to experience new countries so fast,” Claye said. “I went from being a college student and getting my lights cut off because I couldn’t pay my electricity bill to traveling the world and signing a shoe deal. It was like day and night.”

Former Florida standout Marquis Dendy, the 2016 USATF and World Indoor long jump champion, knows the presence of Claye in Albuquerque makes this year’s championship meet even more significant.

“It even surprised me, too. But he must be feeling good if his first meet of the season is here,” Dendy said. “I’m excited to see what he’s going to do.”

Even if it is six years since his last indoor national triple jump title, the 26-year-old Claye knows he hasn’t lost a step. He’s gained valuable experience and perspective, which he hopes can propel him to victory in New Mexico, and perhaps again March 3 in Birmingham, U.K.

“I’m just going to go out there and do what I do. Only God knows what’s going to happen. I know I’ve done everything on my end as far as training and putting the work in, so now we’ll go out there and see what happens,” Claye said. “I never expected all of this, it’s just been a huge blessing, and I’m going to take advantage of it as long as I can.”



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