At the Olympics, Taylor was first in the qualifying round. In the final, Taylor fouled his first two attempts, putting him in danger of being eliminated. On his third attempt he jumped 17.15 to move into 6th place, but more importantly securing an opportunity to take three more attempts. With his fourth jump, he went on to produce his best effort of the season to win the gold medal. Claye would go on to finish second with a jump of 17.62 m, capturing his second medal of the 2012 games after a bronze in the long jump. For the second year in a row, Taylor's 17.81m was the best triple jump in the world in 2012.