TOKYO, Japan — After three years in the shadows, doubts, questions of an uncertain future and a battle to reclaim his stride and purpose, Christopher Taylor is back on the big stage. But for one of Jamaica’s favourite track and field sons, Tokyo will be his testament of resilience and rebirth.

Taylor, a 200m-400m double threat star at the junior levels had just begun to find his feet in the senior ranks, evident by his sixth-place finish in the 400m at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo when his world came crashing down due to an anti-doping violation, which eventually led to a 30-month ban from the sport. This after a six-month investigation determined that he had evaded a doping test in November 2022.

Having only returned in May of this year, Taylor’s qualification to the World Championships, where he will compete in the 200m, is already a mark of resilience and the 25-year-old made it clear that his mission is not to seek redemption, but an important milestone on his path to renewal.

“It’s not about redemption but just a stepping stone for me,” Taylor reasoned. “It’s just me building on what I left. I wouldn’t say it’s a redemption, you know, I don’t hold grudges. I have moved on from the situation that happened. I left it behind me, so I wouldn’t dwell on it and say I’m coming back for redemption here or anything like that, no.”

“Quite frankly, I have no expectation. I think I’ve achieved my ultimate goal for the season and that was to get back close to where I left off when I last competed in 2022, and I think I’ve achieved that. Making it to the World Championship in Tokyo was a big thing for me. Even if I only made it for a relay team, I said, I wanted to come back to Tokyo because my professional career started here, so it’s best to come here and start all over again, and that’s what I did,” he added.

In 2021 and 2022, Taylor ended the season as the fastest Jamaican in the 400m event. In addition to his appearance in the 2020 Olympic final, where he finished sixth, Taylor also advanced to the medal round at the World Athletics Championships in 2022, running seventh.

For now, he’s back in the 200 and while he was pleased with his preparation coming into the championships, Taylor admits that running the bend has been a tough learning curve for him.

“The preparation has been going good in the past two weeks. I made some adjustments, going into the championship because of difficulties I have been having and facing since trials, but I think it’s coming along and I’m just hoping I can go there and put my best foot forward,” Taylor said before pointing to his 200m crash course refresher.

“I haven’t been competing for three years or there about, so it’s like learning to run all over again in an event, such as the 200m, which is very technical, so I had to make certain adjustments on how I come out and approach coming off the bend and how I go down the home stretch, so those were taking a longer time to get back to me. I’m still not there fully, but the championship is here and I have no time left, so I just have to work with what I have,” he said.

Taylor added that while the struggles and his eventually lifting himself out of the situation have not brought any new lessons, the experience has reminded him of the qualities that he possesses.

“I haven’t learned anything really, because I know I’m mentally strong and I know I can get over stuff once I put in the work and stay focused, and I came out for the last eight months and I did that and I am reaping what I sow — I made it to the World Championship. A lot of people have been training for this and I came back, having not competed for how many years and made it, and that’s a big achievement,” the Jamaican stated.

The heats of the men’s 200m are to begin on September 17 at 8:15 pm (6:15 am Jamaica time).

Christopher Taylor of Jamaica trains in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday September 12, 2025. Photo: Garfield Robinson