IU alumnus Derek Drouin won gold in the men’s high jump at the Beijing World Championships Sunday, as he won a three-man jumpoff with a clearance of 2.34 meters.
“I told myself so many times ‘you can win this, you can win this,’” Drouin said in an interview with Athletics Canada. “When it finally happened, it was a relief.”
Clearing 2.33 meters without a scratch, Drouin could not clear 2.36. The bar was dropped to 2.34 meters after the other two jumpers couldn’t clear it.
Drouin became the first IU athlete to win any event at the world championships.
Drouin had been struggling before the World Championships, he said.
“I got to the point where I just wanted the season to be done and forget about World Championships,” Drouin said. “Luckily, I was patient and things finally worked out and things clicked, and when they clicked, they really clicked.”
Taylor Lehman
