All three Gators were successful in their preliminary rounds at the 2012 Olympic Games on Tuesday, August 7, as the jumps trio of Will Claye, Shara Proctor and Christian Taylor qualified for their respective finals.

CHECK OUT the photo gallery from Gators in action at the Olympic Games on Tuesday – courtesy of US Presswire

Track & Field

The Gators started off the day in a big way on Tuesday, as Christian Taylor (U.S.A.) and Will Claye (U.S.A.) began qualification rounds for the men’s triple jump. Taylor, the reigning World Outdoor and U.S. Olympic Trials Champion, needed just one jump to automatically qualify for Thursday’s final, leaping 17.21m/56-5.75 (+0.2) on his first attempt to lead all competitors. Claye used his final jump of 16.87m/55-4.25 (-0.2) to qualify for the finals, finishing fourth in his flight and seventh overall. Claye is just coming off his bronze medal performance in the men’s long jump, where he leapt 8.12m/26-7.75 (-0.2) to take the final podium spot. Both men will jump at 2:20 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon.

Similar to her training partner, Christian Taylor, British record holder Shara Proctor (Great Britain) needed just one jump to advance to the finals of the women’s long jump. Proctor, the first Anguillan-born female athlete to participate in the Olympic Games, leapt 6.83m/22-5 (-0.3) to lead all competitors. Proctor will compete in the finals of the women’s long jump at 3:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon.

Check HERE for a detailed schedule of all Olympics events involving Gators!

For all of the latest information on Gators competing at the 2012 Olympic Games, please visit www.gatorzone.com/olympics/2012 or follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@OlympicGators.

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