How Will Claye made the 'best day' of his life even better after triple jump silver
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RIO DE JANEIRO – On the best day of his life on Tuesday, Will Claye won an Olympic silver medal. He did the same back in 2012, finishing second in the triple jump to his friend and fellow Florida alum Christian Taylor. This silver was different. It came with a diamond, too.
Claye started designing the engagement ring he planned on giving to 400-meter hurdler Queen Harrison before the United States Olympic trials, where she finished fourth and failed to make the Rio Games. She came to support him anyway. Claye brought the ring, not sure when he would propose. The inspiration hit him Tuesday.
“This morning when I woke up,” Claye said, “I was like, ‘Today’s gonna be the best day of my life.’ I’m going to go out there and do what I have to do on the track first, and then I’m gonna make her my fiancée after that.”
As Claye hopped, stepped and jumped at Olympic Stadium, his backpack lay on the track, the ring inside. “To carry a ring in your book bag?” Taylor said. “I don’t even carry a cell phone.” Claye tried to keep an eye on it but realized the folly in that.
“When you’ve got to jump against Christian Taylor, you can’t think of nothing else,” he said. “I was worried about what I had to do on the track. I knew she was there. I knew that wasn’t going anywhere. I was hoping nobody proposed to her first before I did.”
Thankfully, he was the only one planning on a surprise marriage proposal. After his final jump fell short of Taylor’s winning mark of 17.86 meters (58 feet, 7 inches), Claye settled on silver from his first jump of 17.76 (58 feet, 2 inches) and readied himself for an even bigger moment.
Claye tucked into his bag and found the ring. American flag over his shoulders, he went into the stands and got down on one knee.
“I was a little slick,” he said. “She didn’t have any clue.”
They have been a couple for nearly four years, and Claye looked into Harrison’s eyes and told her she was his best friend and that he wanted to grow old with her and that he wanted her at his side the rest of his life. Harrison started to cry.
Around them, fans whipped out cell phone cameras and filmed the moment. Claye’s family gave him grief for keeping it secret – only two of Harrison’s friends knew of his plan – and proceeded to celebrate when she said yes.
“It was just a heartfelt moment to have so many eyes on us and for it to be such a special moment for the both of us,” Claye said. “Besides the medal, besides the triple jump, just for us to have that moment together in such a special place.”
Capping it off with a gold medal would’ve been even better, but Claye was plenty happy how his day turned out. He’s got time for Olympic gold. He is only 25 years old, and with Taylor, 26, primed to push him to the 2020 Tokyo Games, another podium with two Americans is eminently possible.
Taylor wasn’t mad about the diamond distracting from his gold. On the contrary, he was thrilled for his friend. Beating Taylor for gold would’ve been nice, sure, but Will Claye left Olympic Stadium on the best day of his life with a brand-new silver medal and a brand-new fiancée. And that was plenty.
