Hitting the track makes Will Clay feel like a “superhero.” Is there a superhero who doesn't wear a costume? The three-time Olympic track medalist said that whenever he receives his uniform, he never takes it out of his bag until the day of the match. And when he puts it on, it's “just a different kind of energy.”
As Clay prepares for his fourth Olympics, he's grateful for the journey so far. Fighting for America means “representing the greatest nation in the world.” In three games, he won two silver medals in the triple jump in 2022 and 2016 and one bronze medal in the long jump in 2012. He placed fourth in the long jump in 2020.
“For our sport, if you make the U.S. Olympic team, you're almost guaranteed a medal at the Olympics,” he said. “I consider it a true honor to represent a country as respected around the world as the United States.”
That's not the only thing he's grateful for. Clay's partnership with Red Bull has given him opportunities beyond sports. Claye also works as an R&B artist who started his music career after his first Olympics in 2013. His songs have garnered millions of streams on his Spotify.
“I connected with an artist in Los Angeles called YG, and he let me work in the studio with him,” Clay said. “From there, I said, 'Let's get serious about this and really give it a go.'” From there, it was great in terms of being able to connect with people and let my thoughts, ideas, and emotions flow freely. , it became another creative outlet. ”
Claye is an original off the track as well. His presence is unmistakable with the Red Bull can that is his signature at the start.
“I always use Red Bull as my starting point because I need to gauge where to start to hit the board in the right place,” he said. “I put the Red Bull can where the start mark is. That's my job, because no one else has a Red Bull can but me.”
Clay's main motivation is “to see young athletes wanting to be bigger than me one day and trying to get inspiration from what I've done in this sport.” The idea of the next generation following in your footsteps may be frightening to some, but true originals like Clay know they can never be duplicated.
