Olympic and world champion Drouin adding a new challenge: the decathlon
TORONTO — Derek Drouin may be one of the world’s greatest high jumpers, but he’s a multi-event athlete at heart. And so while he was soaring to world and Olympic high jump gold, the 26-year-old from Corunna, Ont., never strayed far from his other love.
He’s drawn more than a few quizzical looks for it.
“There’s a lot of times we go to these track meets and he’s doing long jump training, or hurdling, or running a 1,500 (metre) workout, and people are like ‘What in the hell is he doing?’” said coach Jeff Huntoon. “I just kind of sit back and smile. And I imagine he’s doing the same thing.”
Drouin has won virtually ever high jump title there is, including Commonwealth and Pan American Games gold. So while this season his goal is to clinch a second high jump title at the world championships in London, he also plans to compete in a few decathlons. The ultimate goal: a spot on next year’s Commonwealth Games team.