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Cape Town - Christian
Taylor qualified for the men's triple jump in pole position after
bounding his way to an impressive distance of 17.24 metres while South
Africa's Godfrey Khotso Mokoena was unable to progress after posting a
best distance of 16.51 metres in his three attempts.
The Olympic Stadium was the venue for the qualification round of the men's triple jump on Monday and Taylor, the current title holder from London 2012, was the star of the show.
Taylor, who is just 26-years-of-age, seems on track to claim his second gold medal in this event.
He needed just one attempt to surpass the qualifying threshold distance of 16.95 metres. His rhythm and strength were quite sublime in his solitary jump and he will most certainly fancy his chances in the final which takes place on Tuesday.
On the contrary, Mokoena struggled and seemed nervous on the big stage. His first jump was only 15.13 metres. His second was his best where he covered 16.51 metres while his third was 16.44 metres.
In order to qualify for the final, contestants needed to either achieve a distance of 16.95 metres or finish in the top-twelve. The worst qualifying distance was Lázaro Martínez from Cuba with a 16.61 metre jump.
Mokoena will be disappointed he was unable to better that.
