Friday at Hayward Field, during the inaugural TrackTown Summer Series meet, Will Claye, representing Team Portland, won the triple jump with a distance of 57 feet, 5¾ inches, beating out his former Florida teammate Omar Craddock.
“It was a great meet for me,” said Claye. “It’s good having this meet going into the Olympics.”
Finishing in third was Chris Carter, representing Team New York. His furthest jump was his second jump at 56-4½.
Claye started off the event by jumping 55-2¾ to jump into the lead. Craddock responded on his second jump by reaching 57-2, but that was the extent of their friendly competition, as that was Craddock’s furthest jump. During his fourth jump, Claye took the lead again, and no one was able to catch him from there.
“I was the one really talking, telling everyone I’m about to sit down after jump three,” Craddock said. “Like, ya’ll, I’m too comfortable right now, ya’ll not challenging me. But, Will is Will. I don’t think he said anything, he just jumped further.”
Claye and Craddock are just two of a handful of elite jumpers who have come out of Florida in recent years. During the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials earlier this month, the two of them and fellow Florida alumnus Christian Taylor almost swept the three Olympic spots, but Craddock placed fourth, repeating his performance from the 2012 trials. That year, Taylor and Claye had placed first and second, respectively, then switched places this year.
During the event, the athletes were able to interact with their younger fans by signing autographs and taking pictures between jumps. The fans were seated on the field, next to the jump pit, so they were able to watch every jump and high-five the athletes as they walked by.
“This is the most fun I’ve had in a meet since I was in high school,” Craddock said, referring to both the young fans and the overall atmosphere of Hayward Field. The crowd got into the event by clapping along with each jump for all six competitors.
It was an unusual meet, but one that was important for garnering U.S. interest in track and field.
“The US needs it, we need a track and field meet,” Claye said. “This is great for us.”
Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03