| Taylor, now a double Olympic Champion, retained his title after coming from behind twice to defeat his eternal rival Claye. It was Claye who took the initial lead with his 17.54, backed up by 17.52 in round 2. Taylor, drawn 11th, responded with 17.57. Claye then reached 17.63, only for Taylor to span the winning distance of 17.68 (5.72 hop, 5.56 step, 6.40 jump). All three medal-winning performances were made before the cut, as the 2017 winner Évora had managed 17.19 in round 2. That held up for bronze from three men with bests in the range 17.13-17.16. 182 DOHA 2019 PAST RESULTS/WORLD CHAMPS MEN’S TJ Adding in the gap between take-off and the board edge, the longer jumps were Taylor 17.78 and Claye 17.74, though it was estimated that Clay’s actual distance in round 3 may have been as far as 17.85 had his bib not made a mark in the sand on landing. A similar fate befell Ivana Španovi in the women’s long jump the following day. It transpired that the IAAF had already agreed remove the stipulation for horizontal jumpers to wear bibs on their back (from IAAF rule 143.7), though the rule change did not apply until November 2017. Missing from London was the Moscow and Beijing silver medallist Pedro Pablo Pichardo, who had since defected from Cuba to Portugal. |
