TJ is back on the track this week as he moves to the runway for a conversation with 2-time Olympic gold medalist and American record holder in the triple jump Christian Taylor. They discuss his career, past and present, the creation of the Athletics Association and what lies ahead for Christian.
TJ lists off some of Christian's accomplishments and talks with him about what moments from his career stand out to him (1:38). They discuss how he takes care of his knees with all of the pounding that occurs in triple jumping (2:45). Christian explains how difficult it was to change his technique in the prime of his career (4:18). He also discusses why Florida is so dominant in jumping (6:19). TJ asks Christian what the dynamic is between himself and his long time teammate and competitor, Will Claye(8:10), and how they interact during meets (9:48). Christian explains why the first time he ever jumped in a meet at the University of Florida's home track was in 2019, despite going to school there (10:50). He also talks about his expectations for competing in the new Hayward Field (14:30). TJ asks Christian why he put such an emphasis on finishing his college degree after leaving Florida (15:43), and Christian explains how hard that was while being a professional athlete (17:25). He also describes his reaction when he found out his event was cut from the Diamond League (17:25). TJ and Christian discuss the Athletics Association (21:44) including : the goal (24:49), the effect they have been able to have (26:43), the outside reaction to it (29:00), how COVID has created more dialogue opportunities around the Association (30:48) and his hope for the Association long term (32:50). TJ asks about how COVID has affected his training (34:11), what Christian's mindset is going into yet another Olympic trials (35:26) and how he trains his mind to be at a peak performance level (36:56). Christian breaks down a little track and field as he discusses what his style is to start his jump (38:19), which event has the most style (39:51) and what his favorite field event to watch is (41:39). TJ asks Christian how he got into jumping (42:57) and what the transition was like for him when he moved to England in 2013(44:26). Christian discusses his involvement with the group Classroom Champions (47:20) and what his interests are outside of track and field (49:03). Lastly, TJ talks with Christian about how much longer he sees himself jumping for (50:22), and what it will take to break the World Record (51:34).