The USA Decathlon Team consists of three world class athletes that will represent the U.S. for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The U.S. already in my eyes has the edge in the event in terms of probable medal winners because of Bryan Clay & veteran Tom Pappas. Both have Olympic experience and Clay is the favorite to win the Gold this year as he attempts to be only the 2nd man in history to break the 9,000 point barrier.
Getting a chance to compete in the Olympics is just about every athlete's dream. After two days of fierce competition and years of training beforehand, Trey Hardee's vision of sporting the red, white and blue in Beijing is now a reality. The 24-year-old former University of Texas standout ended up with a second-place finish in the decathlon in Eugene and he posted a career-best total of 8,534 points, ranking him behind overall winner Bryan Clay and ahead of Olympic veteran Tom Pappas.
Not bad for the now 6-foot-5 track star who was once overlooked when he tried to make the basketball team in high school. Hardee's path to Beijing wasn't a smooth one. He had to overcome a hip injury, which cut his training short.
"At this time last year, I couldn't even train, I couldn't do anything," said Hardee, who lives in Austin, Texas. "My hip was pretty busted up. I couldn't run. It hurt to walk."
Once his hip healed, Hardee was forced to put his training into high gear.
"Really it wasn't until this year, until like late winter, early spring of 2008, that I was really able to train really hard again," he added.
Trey needed and had a breakout meet on the 2nd day as he set the stage for the rest of his day by an epic battle in the first event--the 110m High Hurdles. The event posted 3 world class times. Trey was trailing after 6 hurdles and over the final 4 looked like a man possessed as he sprinted to a 1st place finish and a time of 13.71 (PR) Whew! What a race!
The 24 year old at the end of the day found himself standing in 2nd place and bound for Beijing! At the Olympic Games over the course of 10 events anything can happen to anybody. Although he may not be everyone's favorite he is certainly mine. Trey is so young and so talented. His energy level cannot be matched. The title of the World's Greatest Athlete is up for grabs in Beijing and Trey Hardee wants it!
Below is the Video of the 110m HH Day 2 of the Decathlon Trials in Oregon
Trey Hardee is in Lane 7--Talk about shifting gears..
Active.com 2008 Olympics
4 Posts tagged with the tom_pappas tag
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
"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"!
On August 22 in Beijing, China for the 2008 Olympic Games someone will be crowned the title known as the World's Greatest Athlete.
Traditionally, the title of "World's Greatest Athlete" has been given to the man who wins the decathlon. This began when King Gustav V of Sweden told Jim Thorpe, "You, sir, are the World's Greatest Athlete" after Thorpe won the decathlon at the Olympics in Stockholm in 1912. The current holder of the "title" is Czech National Roman Sebrle, who has held the title five of the past seven years as well as the highest score ever.
The word decathlon is of Greek origin (deka --c-main-- +athlon --c-main--).
The contest is a menu of athletic events, testing an individual’s speed,strength, skill, endurance, and perseverance; it includes five events on each of two successive days. The first day is one of speedy movement, explosive power, and jumping ability; the second emphasizes technique and endurance.
Day 1
- 100 Meters
- Long Jump
- Shot Put
- High Jump
- 400 Meters
Day 2
- 100 Meter Hurdles
- Discuss
- Pole Vault
- Javelin
- 1500 Meters
USA Decathlon Olympic Trials Day 1: Sunday 6/29/2008
Bryan Clay clings to a 20-point margin over Trey Hardee after the first day of he US Olympic Trials Decathlon in Eugene. The Helsinki World champion’s total of 4476 was just a breath ahead of his 24-year-old rival at 4454, as five-time US champion (and Paris World champion) Tom Pappas was close by in third with 4405.Bryan Clay set the tone of the competition quickly by sprinting the 100 metres in 10.39 (against a 0.4 wind), which was a decathlon PB. Trey Hardee followed Clay across the finish in 10.43, not far off his own best of 10.35.
After five events, Clay has 4,476 points and a 22-point lead over Trey Hardee.Tom Pappas, who was raised in Glendale and attended nearby Lane Community College, launched a monster throw of 56 feet 7½ inches in the shot put. He is third with 4,405 points.
Oregon sophomore Ashton Eaton used the day's best 400 meters time of 47.07 seconds to pull into fifth place. The overflow Hayward Field crowd of 20,733 clearly was playing favorites. This was obvious early
in the day during the long jump, the competition's second event. That was before many of the fans arrived, but the ones there would rhythmically clap before each attempt by Pappas and Eaton.
"Those guys, they get on the runway and everybody in the stands is clapping for them," Clay said. "It would be like me having a meet back home in Hawaii. I don't think they're going to do any better than they were ready to do. But when you're at home and you're doing stuff in front of your home crowd it just makes things a little easier."
It's shaping up as a very interesting conclusion, beginning at 11:30 a.m. today with the 110-meter high hurdles. Pappas is a five-time U.S. champion. He's been around the block. Hardee set the 2006 NCAA decathlon record. And who knows what to expect from Eaton, a relative novice, who came from behind to win this year's NCAA decathlon.
"I think because my training was going so well I expected to come out and not necessarily blow away the field, but I was expecting to do certain things in certain events," Clay said. "I really wasn't mentally prepared to have to fight for every single centimeter and every single hundredth of a second, and that's what I ended up having to do."
Today's decathlon events are the 110 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500.
Active.com 2008 Olympics
- Contributors:
-
Trish18
-
Active Toby
-
Active Sara
-
gskow
-
mvalenti
-
Jesse@Active
-
jspitzberg
-
Luke_Active
-
mikeyactive
-
Vicky Eydelberg
-
adam_sp
-
Active Giselle
-
NKOTB
-
RyanActive
-
CR Sean
-
Ianpeace1
-
sfiack
-
duckgirl24
-
Coach Corey
-
mdobransky
-
Active Laura
-
lhilts
-
mike_cramton
-
Active MelC
-
MelissaE
-
Bret_20
-
davecamire
-
mike@active
-
Bruce Hildenbrand
-
Timbo 10'
Legend
We're Not Worthy: 10,000 - 1,000,000,000 pts
Legend: 1,000 - 9,999 pts
Pro: 300 - 999 pts
Expert: 200 - 299 pts
Amateur: 40 - 199 pts
Rookie: 0 - 39 pts
Community Moderator
Active.com Staff
SportsPowerStaff