Christian Taylor Interview

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).