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

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Drouin was born March 6, 1990, in Sarnia, Ontario, the largest city on Lake Huron (population 72,000). He grew up in nearby Corunna. He played hockey—don’t all Canadian boys?—and soccer, basketball, volleyball, and tennis. Because the landing area was viewed as dangerous, the high jump was not allowed in elementary school, and he did not begin that event until high school.

Nor did he confine himself to one event, training for the decathlon. His spurt in the high jump mirrored that of his height. He was five foot seven when he began high school and six inches taller a year later. In about eighteen months, his best jump increased from six foot one to six foot eleven.

His introduction to international competition was the 2007 World Youth Championships at Ostrava, Czech Republic, where he finished tenth, and 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games at Pune, India, where he won a bronze medal. His club coach, Joel Skinner, said the different sports were complementary. Once Drouin specialized in the high jump, improvement accelerated.