Читать книгу Indiana University Olympians. From Leroy Samse to Lilly King онлайн

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In Rio, he applied pressure on his competition when he was first over the bar at 7 feet, 9¾ inches. No one else could clear it.

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim won silver at 7–8¾ and Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko bronze at 7–7¾. When Bondarenko missed his only attempt at 7–9¾, the gold medal was Drouin’s. He missed once at what would have been an Olympic record of 7–10½, then ended proceedings. He draped himself in the Maple Leaf and posed for photographers.

“It feels pretty sweet,” Drouin said. “There have been some sacrifices, but I’ve always prided myself on my mental toughness.”

He became the Hoosiers’ first individual gold medalist in track and field since long jumper Greg Bell and decathlete Milt Campbell, both in 1956. Drouin and decathlete Milt Campbell are the only athletes out of IU to win track and field medals in two Olympics.

“The last couple of days I had a realization that I wasn’t nervous at all,” he said in Rio. “I was so excited to be out there because I was confident in my preparation, and also I just love the Olympics and was really just taking the whole moment in. I thrive in a situation where there is a lot going on. I don’t sense a whole lot of distractions.”