While attending the University of Oklahoma, Claye competed for the Oklahoma Sooners men's track and field team. He won the 2009 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the triple jump on his 18th birthday, establishing a new American junior record of. During his second year at Oklahoma, Claye's performance dropped off due to stress fractures in his back and leg. After the 2010 outdoor season, he transferred to the University of Florida to join defending outdoor champion Christian Taylor and training under legendary jumps coach Dick Booth. The collegiate 2011 indoor season was capped by Florida winning the NCAA Indoor National Championship, thanks to Coach Booth's jumpers scoring 30 of the Gators' 52 points, led by Claye's national title in the triple jump and his runner-up finish in the long jump. Claye finished second at the 2011 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships behind Taylor. The two went on to finish in the same order at the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Claye finished his collegiate career at Florida, after his junior year, ending with eight "All American" honors and with two NCAA titles ; he won both the triple and long jumps at the 2011 SEC Championships.
In 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, Claye was 9th in long jump and 3rd in triple jump. Claye, and Gator teammate Christian Taylor, withdrew from the University of Florida after the 2011 Worlds, and turned professional in order to concentrate on preparing for the 2012 London Olympics. He is sponsored by Nike and is training under the direction of Martin Smith.
2012 Olympic Year
Claye established the early, indoor season, leading mark in the triple jump of at the 2012 Tyson Invitational on February 11 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. At the 2012 USA Indoor Championships in February Claye not only won the triple jump, but he exceeded 57 feet on 3 consecutive jumps, finishing with a world-leading mark of. In addition, Claye finished second in the long jump with a mark of. He went on to claim his first world title at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He won the triple jump ahead of Christian Taylor with a clearance of 17.70 m and also placed fourth in the long jump. In the outdoor season, he began with runner-up finishes at both the Shanghai and Eugene legs of the 2012 Diamond League. At the 2012 London Olympics Claye first won the bronze medal in long jump, then followed up by winning the silver medal in triple jump five days later. He is the first man to win medals in both the long and triple jumps at the same Olympics since Naoto Tajima of Japan at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics.
