Olympic Champion Derek Drouin Wants to Jump Again After Injury Kept Him Out of World Championships

By Adam Kopet

Derek Drouin missed the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships with an injury. Three months later, Drouin is now looking forward to jumping again, according to Lori Ewing and the Star.

The injury, a partially torn Achilles tendon, came about at the last moment, forcing Drouin to withdraw from this summer's World Championships. Instead of defending his world title, he watched the high jump competition from home.

The specifics of Drouin's injury make it more painful, but pain is nothing new to the Olympic champion high jumper. He won the 2016 Olympic gold with two stress fractures in his back.

As Drouin now plans his 2018 season, his thoughts of retiring that began after winning Olympic gold have subsided. He wants to jump again.

As a Canadian, the only major event Drouin is concerned about is the 2018 Commonwealth Championships. They will be held in April in Gold Coast, Australia. Drouin plans to defend his Commonwealth title.

The 27-year old is still at least a month from jumping, but he believes the unplanned time off will make the early peak for the Commonwealth Games easier. Although he has plenty of experience with early peaks, having competed for Indiana at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships.