The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit. The triple jump was inspired by accounts of lengthy jumps at the ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympics event since the Games' inception in 1896.
The men's long jump competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–4 August. Forty-two athletes from 30 nations competed. The event was won by 15cm by Greg Rutherford of Great Britain, the nation's second gold medal in the men's long jump and first medal in the event since winning gold in 1964. Mitchell Watt won Australia's fourth silver in the event; Australia had never won gold. Will Claye returned the United States to the podium after a 2008 Games with no American finalists; it was still only the first time that the American team had failed to win the event in two consecutive Games.
The men's triple jump competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 7–9 August. Twenty-seven athletes from 21 nations competed. The event was won by Christian Taylor of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event since 1996 and seventh overall. His teammate Will Claye won silver; Claye was the first man to medal in both the long jump and triple jump since 1936. Fabrizio Donato earned Italy's first medal in the men's triple jump since 1968.
The men's triple jump event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, had an entry list of 25 competitors, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Friday July 30, 1976. The top twelve and ties, and all those reaching 16.30 metres advanced to the final. The qualification round was held in Thursday July 29, 1976. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
Christian Taylor is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the triple jump and has a personal record of 18.21 m, which ranks 2nd on the all-time list.
Will Claye is an American track and field athlete of Sierra Leonean descent who competes in the long jump and triple jump. He won a bronze medal in 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the gold medals at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships and 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships. In his Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Claye won a bronze medal in long jump and a silver medal in triple jump. He repeated his silver medal in the triple jump four years later. His personal best of 18.14 m, set at the Jim Bush Southern California USATF Championships in Long Beach on June 29, 2019, ranks him as the No. 4 triple jumper of all time.
The men's triple jump at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Luzhniki Stadium on 16–18 August.
The men's triple jump competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 15–16 August. Forty-seven athletes from 35 nations competed. The event was won by Christian Taylor of the United States, the fifth man to successfully defend Olympic gold in the triple jump. It was the United States' eighth victory in the event. Just as in London four years earlier, Will Claye took silver; the two Americans were the 13th and 14th men to win multiple medals in the event. Dong Bin of China earned bronze, the nation's first medal in the men's triple jump.
The men's triple jump at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 26 and 27 August.
The women's triple jump at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22 and 24 August.
Hugues Fabrice Zango is a Burkinabé athlete who specialises in the triple jump and the long jump. He is the world indoor record holder in the triple jump with a jump of 18.07 m set in 2021 and the reigning world champion, winning the gold medal in the triple jump at the 2023 World Championships. Zango competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and won the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, in the triple jump event, the first ever Olympic medal for Burkina Faso. He has also competed in World Championships, two African athletics championships, a Jeux de la Francophonie, two Summer Universiades and two African Games. He became Burkina Faso's first-ever Olympic medalist, earning a bronze medal in Tokyo, and set the African triple jump record at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.
The men's triple jump at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 7 and 10 August.
The women's triple jump at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 5 and 7 August.
The men's triple jump event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 3 and 5 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. Approximately 35 athletes were expected to compete; the exact number was dependent on how many nations use universality places to enter athletes in addition to the 32 qualifying through time or ranking. 32 athletes from 19 nations competed. Pedro Pichardo of Portugal won the gold medal, the nation's second victory in the men's triple jump. China's Zhu Yaming took silver, while Hugues Fabrice Zango earned Burkina Faso's first Olympic medal in any event.
The men's long jump at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 27 to 28 September 2019.
The men's triple jump at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 27 to 29 September 2019.
The men's triple jump at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 21 and 23 July 2022.
The women's triple jump at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 16 and 18 July 2022. 28 athletes from 20 nations entered to the event.
The men's long jump at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 23 and 24 August 2023.
The men's triple jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in Paris, France, on 7 and 9 August 2024. This was the 30th time that the event was contested at the Summer Olympics.
