Rio 2016: Christian Taylor gives glory to God for triple jump gold

Christian Taylor won the triple jump gold, retaining his Olympic titleReuters

Christian Taylor, a committed evangelical Christian, has won gold in the triple jump at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

He beat teammate and fellow Christian Will Claye who took silver. Taylor's first jump was a season best of 17.86m and was enough to secure the gold, retaining his title from London 2012.

Claye jumped a personal best of 17.76m to win silver with China's Bin Dong in bronze taking the bronze with 17.58m.

Taylor has previously told Passion for Sport his Christian faith was "absolutely" the foundation of his life.

"This is what I do it for," he said. "This is what keeps me grounded, this is what motivates me. This is what I do it for, at the end of the day."

He has also said: "My faith keeps me to who I am, because a lot of times there are a lot of distractions, a lot of pressures that come with the lifestyle.

"But keeping that faith and just remembering who I am is very important to me. I have my daily devotions."

Claye, who came second, is also an outspoken Christian. He famously carried a Bible instead of the US flag for a victory lap after winning the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul in 2012.

His Twitter profile makes clear that gives "all glory to the most high".

Will Claye, who took silver, is not shy about his Christian faith on his Twitter profile.Reuters