Will Claye later went on to record the rap song "IDGAF" with
YG.
Career
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2021)
College career
While attending the
University of Oklahoma, Claye competed for the
Oklahoma Sooners men's track and field team. He won the 2009
NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the triple jump on his 18th birthday, establishing a new American junior record of 56 ft 4.75 in (17.19 m). During his second year at Oklahoma, Claye's performance dropped off due to stress fractures in his back and leg.[5] After the 2010 outdoor season, he transferred to the
University of Florida to join defending outdoor champion
Christian Taylor and training under legendary jumps coach
Dick Booth. The collegiate 2011 indoor season was capped by Florida winning the NCAA Indoor National Championship, thanks to Coach Booth's jumpers scoring 30 of the Gators' 52 points, led by Claye's national title in the triple jump and his runner-up finish in the long jump.
Claye finished second at the 2011
NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships behind Taylor.[6] The two went on to finish in the same order at the 2011
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[7] Claye finished his collegiate career at Florida, after his junior year, ending with eight "All American" honors and with two NCAA titles (the 2009 outdoor triple jump title and the 2011 indoor title); he won both the triple and long jumps at the 2011 SEC Championships.
2011 World Championships
In
2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, Claye was 9th in long jump and 3rd in triple jump.[8] Claye, and Gator teammate Christian Taylor, withdrew from the University of Florida after the 2011 Worlds, and turned professional in order to concentrate on preparing for the 2012 London Olympics.[9] He is sponsored by Nike and is training under the direction of Martin Smith.
2012 Olympic Year
Claye established the early, indoor season, leading mark in the triple jump of 57 ft 0.75 in (17.39 m) at the 2012 Tyson Invitational on February 11 in
Fayetteville, Arkansas (his only valid jump in the elite competition). At the 2012 USA Indoor Championships in February Claye not only won the triple jump, but he exceeded 57 feet on 3 consecutive jumps, finishing with a world-leading mark of 57 ft 10.25 in (17.63 m). In addition, Claye finished second in the long jump with a mark of 26 ft 3.75 in (8.02 m). He went on to claim his first world title at the
2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He won the triple jump ahead of
Christian Taylor with a clearance of 17.70 m and also placed fourth in the long jump.[10] In the outdoor season, he began with runner-up finishes at both the
Shanghai and
Eugene legs of the
2012 Diamond League.[11]
At the
2012 London Olympics Claye first won the bronze medal in long jump, then followed up by winning the silver medal in triple jump five days later.[2]
He is the first man to win medals in both the long and triple jumps at the same Olympics since
Naoto Tajima of Japan at the
1936 Berlin Summer Olympics.[12]