Olympics 2021: An extraordinary athletics double beckons JuVaughn Harrison in Tokyo

JuVaughn Harrison was one of the best performers at the US Track and Field Olympic Trials for the Tokyo Olympics 2021 that were held in June 2021. However, more than the achievements, it was the events in which he performed that impressed everyone. Harrison won both the men's high jump and long jump events with an impressive effort of 2.33 meters and 8.47 meters respectively.

But it is not that the 22-year-old JuVaughn Harrison shone out of nowhere at the US Olympic Trials. He has been equally brilliant in both the high jump and the long jump for quite some time now at collegiate events. He won both the 2021 NCAA Division 1 outdoor and indoor championships in the high jump and long jump, representing Louisiana State University.

JuVaughn Harrison in action in the men's Long Jump event at the US Olympic Trials

At the 2021 NCAA Division 1 indoor championships, Harrison's two events were separated by just two hours. He miraculously won both of them, registering world-class marks of 2.30 meters in the high jump and 8.45 meters in the long jump. He went one better at the US Olympic Trials where he achieved the same feat on the same day to make it into the US Olympic team in both the high jump and long jump events.

Why is JuVaughn Harrison's feat extraordinary?

In track and field events at the Olympics, an athlete winning multiple medals is not uncommon. Over the years, the likes of Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and Mo Farah have won medals in multiple categories at the same Olympics. But for an athlete who runs a particular distance (say 1500 meters) will not find it difficult to run over 800 meters or 5000 meters again as the technical requirements for these events are more or less the same.

However, in the case of JuVaughn Harrison, the two events that he is participating in at the Tokyo Olympics, i.e. the high jump and long jump, require completely different skillsets.

In the high jump, it is more a game of precision control. For an athlete to be successful at a world-class level in this event, he/she needs to have immense control over their body movements when jumping over the bar. It doesn't require an athlete to have high sprinting quality but it requires them to have a world-class hopping technique before leaping vertically from the ground and over the bar.

However, in the long jump, an athlete needs to display the sprinting speed of a world-class sprinter. Along with that, a long jumper needs to have quite a command over the stride length and precision over the take-off board. The long jump requires an athlete to be swift over the 40 meter runway, show precision control over the board and land in the pit with perfection.

It takes an athlete years to master the technique of one discipline in a jumping event, let alone two events that are completely different from each other. This makes JuVaughn Harrison's feat all that more extraordinary because he has not only mastered these disciplines but has recorded world-class marks in these events. One should also not forget that he is only 22 years old.

JuVaughn Harrison will be the first athlete after Jim Thorpe to participate in the high jump and the long jump at the same edition of the Olympics. However, Thorpe achieved this feat almost 100 years earlier at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics without winning a medal. This further speaks of the enormity of Harrison's achievement and it will make him all the more prominent if he can win a medal in Tokyo.

Can Harrison win gold medals in these events?

JuVaughn Harrison is currently in third spot on the top lists of men's high jump event in 2021. He has leapt to a distance of 2.36 meters this year. He is just a centimeter behind the joint leaders of 2021, Ilya Ivanyuk of Russia (representing as an authorized neutral athlete) and Maksim Ndasekau of Belarus. However, Harrison has not jumped below the distance of 2.30 meters this season in any major high jump competition final. This speaks volumes about his consistency.

In the long jump, only the Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou is ahead of Harrison in the 2021 top lists. But again, Harrison looks a force to be reckoned with as he has consistently jumped over 8.20 meters this season both outdoors and indoors. Looking at the form and shape that JuVaughn Harrison is in, one can expect him to complete this unique double with a yellow medal around his neck at the Tokyo Olympics.

The only factor that might be held against Harrison in achieving this insane feat is that he has not competed outside of the US in any major competition in his short senior career. However, with the kind of raw talent and confidence that Harrison possesses, one can expect him to withstand the pressure of the Olympics.

JuVaughn Harrison will be in action at the high jump event on July 30th, 2021 and in the long jump on the 31st of July at the Tokyo Olympics