(Reuters) – Double Olympic and four-times world triple jump champion Christian Taylor has ruptured his Achilles tendon just over two months before the Tokyo Olympics, his fiancee said on Thursday.
The American, who won gold at the London 2012 Games and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, was injured during a meeting in Ostrava in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, Austrian hurdler Beate Schrott said in a social media post.
“Christian ruptured his Achilles during the competition in Ostrava yesterday. It is heartbreaking. Really,” she wrote.
“I know he’ll get through this,” she said. “He will fight his way back.”
Taylor’s agent could not be immediately reached for comment.
Schrott said Taylor, 30, had undergone surgery but did not provide details on the likely length of his absence.
The U.S. athletics federation wished Taylor a speedy recovery without confirming the injury.
“Wishing back-to-back Olympic champion and four-time World champion @Taylored2jump a speed recovery,” the USATF said on Twitter.
The Tokyo Olympic Games are due to start on July 23 after being delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry, Writing by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)
