Christian Taylor (born June 18, 1990) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the triple jump and has a personal record of 17.96 m (58 ft 11 in). He is the reigning Olympic champion and was the gold medalist at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. He was the triple jump champion and long jump bronze medalist at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics. He established himself as a top level triple jumper at the University of Florida, where he won back-to-back NCAA Indoor titles and then consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championship titles in 2010 and 2011. Taylor won his first USA Outdoor national title in 2011. He followed his national title with a win in the triple jump at the 2011 World Championships, upsetting the field with the tenth best jump in history. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team and won the gold medal in the triple jump at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He placed fourth at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.