Tom Pappas of the United States is the first ever U.S. decathlete to qualify for three Olympics. Is that simply amazing or what? First off all, you have to be insane anyways to compete in 10 events just to win once, but I guess that's why whoever wins the decathlon is dubbed the World's Greatest Athlete.

Monday at the 2008 Olympic Trials Pappas, 31, used a first place in the pole vault (17-0¼ ) and a second place in discus to become the first U.S. decathlete to qualify for three Olympics. Over a decade of training 6 days a week, 5-6 hours daily, with double sessions twice weekly.

Basically over the last 12 years, which is 4,380 days...Pappas trained 3,744 of those days! And I'm not talking about trained as he went for a run, stopped by the weight room, did some sit-ups, or some intense stretching. Decathletes are the best trained physical and mental species you have ever seen. Hands down.

Pappas won the gold medal at the 2003 World Championships held outside Paris, France, and was rated number 1 in the world that year by Track & Field News. He is a four-time US champion (2000, 2002, 2003, 2006) and was the 1999 NCAA champion while attending the University of Tennessee. He finished fifth at the 2000 Olympic decathlon, and competed in but did not finish the decathlon due to a foot injury at the 2004 Olympic Games. His personal best in the decathlon is 8,784 points while winning the 2003 US championships held at Stanford University, CA.

Now Tom Pappas will have an opportunity to possibly help the USA sweep the decathlon event with his veteran swagger next month at the Olympic Games in Beijing.  At the age of 31 Tom is not your favorite to win the gold or maybe even metal for that matter, but what is more impressive to me is the solid commitment he has given to his family, the decathlon, and the United States of America. Congratulations Mr. Pappas I wouldn't be surprised to see you come home from Beijing with a little hardware!

In Success,

Coach Corey

Biography is courtesy of USTAF.Org

Pappas claimed his fifth U.S. Outdoor decathlon title and second in a row in 2007 before traveling to Osaka, Japan, for the World Outdoor Championships, where he dropped out of the competion after six events due to an injury. Following an injury in 2005, he bounced back to win the 2006 USA Outdoor decathlon title and showed up again in the world rankings (#7 in world, #2 U.S.) by Track & Field News.

Pappas had surgery in March 2005 for a torn labrum in his shoulder and was unable to compete that year, though he did continue training in all events except the javelin and pole vault. After winning the 2003 World Outdoor crown, Pappas, who is of Greek heritage and has a large Greek fan base, was a gold-medal favorite in the decathlon for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Unfortunately, Pappas was forced to drop out of the Olympic competition after he hurt his left foot on his first pole vault attempt at 4.61 meters/15 feet, 1 inch. Pappas was diagnosed with an acute strain in his left foot.

In 2003 Pappas became the only American other than the legendary Dan O’Brien to win World Championships gold in the decathlon…had minor surgery on his right shoulder on January 27, 2004 to remove cartilage…throws left handed…Pappas established himself as one of the greatest decathletes in U.S. history with his winning total of 8,784 points at the 2003 USA Outdoor Championships, making him the then #2 American of all-time and setting a meet record.

Pappas beat the world’s finest to win gold in the heptathlon at the 2003 World Indoor Championships...participated in football, baseball, wrestling and basketball in high school and was Junior class president. His grandfather was a professional wrestler who encouraged him to try the sport as well. His father, Nick, constructed a full-size wrestling ring in their basement so Tom and his two brothers could take turns body slamming each other. Pappas’ competitive nature comes from his father, who has dealt with paralysis most of his life after becoming a victim of polio before age two. Despite being physically challenged, Nick Pappas became the family’s first world record holder when he and a partner claimed a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in a vehicle that achieved a top velocity of more than 700 kilometers per hour... In 1995, Pappas began training as a decathlete, winning his first-ever decathlon with 6,746 points...Married to heptathlete Kim Schiemenz.

Bryan Clay, Trey Hardee, and Tom Pappas qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team

EUGENE, Ore.- Bryan Clay built a foundation for a run at a gold medal in Beijing when he won the decathlon Monday night at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials with the highest point total in the world this season. Clay made his second straight Olympics with a personal-record score of 8,832 points. That marked the best score by an American in 16 years, the best in the world in four years, and beat Dan O'Brien's Olympic Trials record.

"From the get-go, I said, 'This is what I'm going to do, these are the marks I'm going to put up,' " Clay said. "I don't care if it's headwinds, tailwinds. I don't care how I'm feeling. I'm going to make it happen today, and that's what I did."

Bryan Clay 1st Place - 8,832       Trey Hardee 2nd Place - 8,534         Tom Pappas 3rd Place - 8,511

Pappas, 31, used a first place in the pole vault (17-0¼ ) and a second place in discus to become the first U.S. decathlete to qualify for three Olympics. Hardee won the hurdles and was third in the javelin. 

"Yesterday I wasn't disciplined enough. I never got in a rhythm," Clay said. "I went home last night, talked with my coaches and made the decision in my head that I was going to come out and make this happen. No matter what."

Clay was disappointed with his results during Sunday's opening events that left him with a narrow lead over Hardee, the 2006 NCAA champion, and Pappas, the 2003 world champion. But Clay found his form quickly Monday with a solid race in the 110-meter hurdles. He had the best marks in discus and javelin and cleared 16 feet, 4¾ inches in the pole vault. He needed to run the 1,500 in 4 minutes, 53 seconds to notch his personal best. He finished in 4:50.97.

On the fourth day of the U.S. Olympic track and field trials Clay won the classic event of Jim Thorpe and Rafer Johnson and Bruce Jenner and Dan O'Brien with a lifetime best 8,832 points, a bit short of O'Brien's American record 8,891 but still the highest score by an American in 16 years. Among Americans, only O'Brien, with two performances, has ever scored more than Clay, whose performance Sunday and Monday equals the 11th highest score in the history of the decathlon. Clay was followed on the U.S. Olympic team by Trey Hardee with a lifetime best 8,534 and Tom Pappas with 8,511. Pappas became the first man to make three Olympic teams in the decathlon.

"I think there's tons of room for improvement," said Clay, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist and '05 world champion. "This showed that mentally I am a very tough competitor. I am ready to break the world record. It's a matter of time. If everything is aligned ... and I can put all 10 events together, I can score really high."

The world record of 9,026 points is held by Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic, the first man to crack the 9,000-point barrier. Sebrle set his record in 2001 and is not thought to be a 9,000-point man any longer. Clay will go to the Beijing Olympics in August as the favorite to win the gold medal.

Feel free to come back to the Active.com 2008 Olympics Blog for a full series of Decathlon posts, by Coach Corey, leading up to the Olympic Games in Beijing. The count down is on as were only 53 days away from finding out WHO will be the "World's Greatest Athlete"!

Mike Day dominated the Olympic Trials held in Chula Vista June 14. Day won three out of four events and secured a nomination to the first U.S. Olympic BMX team.

Kyle Bennett and Jill Kintner automatically qualified when they ended the 2008 season as the top-ranked athletes in USA Cycling's BMX Rankings.

Mike Day practices at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.

AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi

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Final Scores From the Olympic Trials

1. Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.) 32

2. Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.) 21

3. David Herman (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) 13

4. Kristopher Fox (Phelan, Calif.) 7

5. Steven Cisar (Altadena, Calif.) 6

6. Danny Caluag (Chino, Calif.) 5

7.Tyler Brown (San Clemente, Calif.) 0

Lisa Fernandez, a three-time Olympic champion and one of the best pitchers in the world, wasn’t good enough to beat out Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman and Monica Abbott to make the U.S. National Team’s final Olympic roster as the team readies for Beijing.

Fernandez admitted she was having a tough time getting her skills back, but was confident she could still play at a high level.

"I think I still have it," she said. "I think the advantage I have is my experience. I have the heart."

And she does. I’ve followed Fernandez’s career dating back to 1994 during her days at UCLA, where she led the Bruins to two NCAA championships. I watched her win a gold medal in the first Olympic Games that included the sport of softball. Every girl on my softball team had the Lisa Fernandez Louisville Slugger bat.

The truth is her vast amounts of experience and heart weren’t enough to earn her a spot in the Olympic rotation. When I interviewed Fernandez at the 2007 World Cup of Softball and asked her if she was planning on mounting a comeback, I believed she had a good chance of making it. Not only did she dominate opponents in the batter’s box with world-class style, but was a skilled third baseman and very strong hitter. 

However, head coach Mike Candrea didn’t think Fernandez got back to her usual dominating self after taking three years off to start a family.

"I was really hoping she would get close to where she was in 2004," said Candrea. " I wanted her to go out on top."

So while 37-year-old Fernandez has been left off the Olympic roster, she has been named a replacement player in the event someone gets injured. I don't think Candrea made a mistake but I sincerely wish that the Olympic roster allowed for one more player. I believe she is still the greatest softball player to ever play the game and appreciate the tremendous role she played in advancing the sport and giving female athletes someone to look up to.

Do you think Lisa Fernandez should have been included on the Olympic roster because of her versatility and experience—or does Team USA have the most solid squad possible now? 

The 2008 USA Softball Olympic team roster:

Monica Abbott, Salinas, Calif. (University of Tennessee ’07)

Laura Berg, Santa Fe Springs, Calif. (Graduate ’98)

Crystl Bustos, Canyon Country, Calif. (Palm Beach C.C.)

Andrea Duran, Selma, Calif. (UCLA ’06)

Jennie Finch, La Mirada, Calif. (Arizona ’02)

Tairia Flowers, Tucson, Ariz. (UCLA ’04)

Vicky Galindo, Union City, Calif. (Cal ’05)

Lovieanne Jung, Fountain Valley, Calif. (Arizona ’03)

Kelly Kretschman, Indian Harbour Beach, Fla. (Alabama ’01)

Lauren Lappin, Anaheim, Calif. (Stanford ’06)

Caitlin Lowe, Tustin, Calif. (Arizona ’07)

Jessica Mendoza, Camarillo, Calif. (Stanford ’02)

Stacey Nuveman, La Verne, Calif. (UCLA ’02)

Cat Osterman, Houston, Texas (Texas ’07)

Natasha Watley, Irvine, CA. (UCLA ’05)