Derek Drouin

Derek Drouin (born March 6, 1990) is a Canadian retired track and field athlete who competes in the high jump. He won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and was the 2015 World Champion. He also won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Pan American Games, and won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships. Drouin was originally awarded the bronze at the 2012 Olympics which was retroactively changed to silver when the original gold medallist Ivan Ukhov was stripped of his medal for doping violations. He was belatedly presented with the upgraded silver in a presentation during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, one of 10 Olympians who were presented with “reallocated” medals from previous Olympics. He holds both the world decathlon best and the world heptathlon best in the high jump with clearances of and , respectively.

Drouin's personal best jump of , set in 2014, is the Canadian record and ranks him joint eighth on the overall list. In his college career, he was a five-time NCAA Champion in the high jump for the Indiana Hoosiers.

Career Drouin first learned to high jump in kindergarten in Corunna, Ontario when his teacher introduced the sport to the class. Prior to the 2012 season Drouin had never competed at any senior level World Championships.

He competed in the high jump event at the 2012 Summer Olympics after winning the Canadian national championships with a 2.31 to edge out compatriot Michael Mason who also competed in London. Drouin was almost unable to get to the point where he could compete at the Olympics, having torn three ligaments in his foot in 2011 after jumping in a meet in Mississippi State and only returned to competition in April 2012. Drouin initially won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England with a jump of 2.29 metres. This was Canada's first medal in high jump since the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal when Greg Joy medalled for Canada. Drouin had a lot to say of the moment but felt he could achieve more: "I wanted to prove this year that I deserved to be on the podium in London 2012, feels good to have accomplished that goal. I was joking after that I never thought I would only place third jumping 2.38 metres, I'm certainly not disappointed, it was an incredible competition. I felt like 2.41 metres was attainable but it's always emotional when you set a personal best, getting another one in the same competition was a daunting task. That height is definitely a realistic goal for me now."

As a result of his record-breaking season, Drouin won three major awards from Athletics Canada. He was awarded the Jack W. Davies Trophy as outstanding athlete of the year, plus the F.N.A. Rowell Trophy as athlete of the year in field events, and the Cal D. Bricker Memorial Trophy for outstanding performance of the year.

2014

Building on his new breakthroughs, the following outdoor season saw Drouin reach new heights when he bettered his Canadian record jumping 2.40 at the 2014 Drake Relays event in Des Moines, United States. In that Friday evening competition on April 25, he cleared the first 8 heights – each on his first attempt – winning at 2.38m; Americans Erik Kynard and Dusty Jonas both cleared 2.35m and were second and third respectively. Drouin then cleared 2.40 on his third attempt for a new Canadian record (and did not attempt to jump higher). Drouin was proud of reaching what he deemed a prestigious height, saying, "That is a huge barrier distance, I think, for any elite high jumper. It's kind of like the first time making two metres, or seven foot being an elusive seven-foot club. Two-forty has only been cleared by a handful of people ever, so as a high jumper I think I've sort of coined that as my lifetime goal." As a result of the jump, Drouin became just the tenth man in the world to jump 2.40 or higher outdoors, while five others have done it indoors.

Drouin went to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in July, there he won the gold medal with a jump of 2.31 m, while he failed to clear a jump of 2.37 on his next attempts at trying to set the Commonwealth Games record. Teammate Michael Mason finished behind Drouin in the bronze medal position.

2015 Pan Am and world champion

The 2015 came with two big events for Drouin, the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto followed by the 2015 World Championships in Athletics a few weeks later. In his hometown Pan Am Games in Toronto, Drouin won gold with teammate Mason again grabbing silver in a duplicate result from the Commonwealth Games. After the win Drouin said "My last two meets were season bests also, so I was carrying in some confidence. I knew that being in Toronto and being in front of the crowd like this would be great, so I'm glad I didn't let that go to waste. Canada winning gold and silver, it can't get much better than that. Non-verbally, because I didn't want to jinx it, I was hoping Mike and I would be the top two spots."

At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics Drouin found himself in the finals in a four-way jumpoff after they all cleared 2.33 m but could not make 2.36 m. Drouin managed to make the 2.34 m on his first try while his opponents all faltered, thus securing his world title. After winning he said, "It's funny because a few months ago I was just so frustrated with the season. I went about a month and a half without clearing 2.30m, playing with a new approach and trying to peak at the end of the season. I got to the point where I just wanted the season to be done and forget about world championships. Luckily, I was patient and things finally worked out and things clicked and when they clicked they really clicked. I felt like I was in a really good place coming into here."

2016 Olympic gold

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Drouin jumped a season best height of 2.38 metres to win the gold medal, defeating Barshim and Bondarenko. Drouin cleared every height on his first attempt, until he missed at 2.40 while going for the Olympic record. It was the second medal won by a Canadian male athlete, the first gold medal for a Canadian male, and Canada's third gold medal overall during the Rio de Janeiro games. Drouin was the first Canadian to win a gold medal in a field sport since Duncan McNaughton, who also won the high jump at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Of the historic gold, Drouin said, "We've had a pretty good tradition in high jump, so myself and my teammates are just trying to keep re-writing it. It doesn't matter that I was world champion coming in today. In my eyes, everyone was on even playing ground right from the start. The pressure that maybe other people felt for me I certainly wasn't internalizing." His approach involves him going slower and bounding toward the bar rather than running at it with pace as his opponents do. This allows him to keep his plant leg stiff, if the leg bends he'll lose the energy he needs in his leg for the jump. On April 7, 2017, at the Sam Adam Multi Event meet in Montecito, California, he set the world decathlon best in the high jump at . His jump and decathlon performance improved upon a record that had stood since 1977. He did add that he still intends to compete in the high jump at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London to defend his world title.

Post-career He retired from athletic competition in 2021 and now works with the Canadian Olympic Committee as a program manager in Athletic Marketing and Olympic Legacy within the organization.

Personal life Drouin was born in Sarnia, Ontario, to Sheila (née Teschke) and Gaetan Drouin. He grew up in Corunna, Ontario, a small community in the St. Clair Township. He has two sisters, Jillian and Alysha.

Honours In 2012, Drouin was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

National titles Canadian Track and Field Championships High jump: 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships High jump: 2010, 2013 NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships High jump: 2010, 2011, 2013

Personal bests Outdoor +Individual events Event Performance Location Date Long jump Sydney March 18, 2017 High jump NR Des Moines April 25, 2014 110 metres hurdles 14.04 Louisville April 13, 2013 13.87 Bloomington May 3, 2013 400 metres hurdles 56.30 Louisville April 14, 2012 Javelin throw Gainesville April 5, 2013

+Combined events Event Performance Location Date Score Decathlon Santa Barbara April 7–8, 2017 7,150 points 100 metres 11.42 Santa Barbara April 7, 2017 769 points Shot put Santa Barbara April 7, 2017 612 points High jump Santa Barbara April 7, 2017 1,071 points 400 metres 51.81 Santa Barbara April 7, 2017 733 points 110 metres hurdles 14.47 Santa Barbara April 8, 2017 915 points Discus throw Santa Barbara April 8, 2017 561 points Pole vault Santa Barbara April 8, 2017 562 points Javelin throw Tuscaloosa March 28, 2010 623 points 1500 metres 4:54.51 Santa Barbara April 8, 2017 592 points Virtual Best Performance 7,200 points

Decathlon best

Indoor +Individual events Event Performance Location Date Long jump Bloomington January 12, 2013 High jump NR Fayetteville March 9, 2013 60 metres hurdles 8.00 Champaign February 26, 2011

+Combined events Event Performance Location Date Score Heptathlon Geneva, Ohio February 22–23, 2013 5,817 points 60 metres 7.25 Geneva, Ohio February 22, 2013 796 points Long jump Geneva, Ohio February 22, 2013 862 points Shot put Geneva, Ohio February 4, 2011 623 points High jump Geneva, Ohio February 22, 2013 1,091 points 60 metres hurdles 7.98 Bloomington December 7, 2012 987 points Pole vault Geneva, Ohio February 23, 2013 659 points 1000 metres 2:45.06 Geneva, Ohio February 23, 2013 818 points Virtual Best Performance 5,836 points

Heptathlon best

International competitions