Austin, Texas, USA - Trey Hardee, who set an American collegiate Decathlon record of 8465 here at the Texas Relays two years ago and then spent all of 2007 injured, returned to the scene on Thursday (3 Apr) with a performance that in many ways was even more remarkable.

With only six weeks of serious training behind him, the 1.96m, 95kg Hardee racked up 8371 points, an early season world leader, and put himself back into the U.S Olympic picture.

Hardee, 24, came into the second day with 4212 points, chiefly thanks to a 10.40 (1.8) 100m and a 47.76 400.

“I was sort of feeling my way the first day,” he said later, adding, “This is my Pre-Olympics Olympics,” explaining that he needed to get a qualifying score for the U.S. Olympic Trials set for 29-30 June.

He opened his second day with a modest 13.99 (3.3) 110m hurdles, then hit PBs in the Discus Throw (52.76m) and Pole Vault (5.25m), before taking a single Javelin Throw of 58.96m and finishing with a 5:02.18 in the 1500m.

Behind him were Chilean Gonzalo Barroilhet, with a national record tally of 7828, Americans Brandon Hoskins (7800) and Rickey Moody (7787) and Camille Vandendriessche of France with 7559.

Hardee’s year off in 2007 included surgery on his right wrist; recovery which he describes as “A lot of stuff that kind of culminated in one big trauma to my hip and groin,” and a long period of rehabilitation.

Julie Pickler approaching 6000 point barrier

The Heptathlon was won by Julie Pickler with a PB score of 5990. She and her twin sister Diana have won the event here four years in a row. Diana, who won last year with 6205, scratched after a hamstring scare a week ago. She is scheduled to compete in a Heptathlon in Italy on 9-10 May.

On the track, a University of Texas team won the 4x800m relay, a staple of these relay carnivals, with a sparkling 7:17.63. The Texas team of Tevan Everett (1:51.1), Kyle Miller (1:50.3) and Leonel Manzano (1:48.9) was anchored by Jacob Hernandez in 1:47.4.

The men’s Hammer Throw was won by 21-year-old Boldizsar Kocsor of UCLA with a throw of 67.80m; he was closely followed by the 19-year-old Walter Henning of the University of North Carolina at 67.46.

James Dunaway for the IAAF