News01 Jul 2008


Clay’s world season leading 8832pts wins US Olympic Trials title

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Bryan Clay hurdling in the Decathlon at the US Olympics Trials (© Getty Images)

Eugene, Oregon, USABryan Clay amassed a personal best 8832 points to win the US Olympic Decathlon title on Monday evening (30).  It was the third national title for the silver medal winner in the Athens Olympics. Finishing behind Clay and earning spots on the US Olympic team were Trey Hardee (PB 8534) and Paris World champion Tom Pappas (8511). 

The competition is part of the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge 2008.

The top combatants led off the second day grouped into the same section of the 110m Hurdles.  Hardee flew down the track in 13.71sec, a significant improvement on both his Decathlon PB of 13.83w and his absolute career best of 13.93.  But Hardee’s goal of making a dent into Clay’s 20-point first-day lead was thwarted when Clay followed him into the finish in a similarly quick 13.75, only 0.01 off his own lifetime best. 

Clay remained in the lead after six events, but his margin over Hardee was now only 17 points, 5483 to 5466. 

Pappas’ 14.17 landed squarely in the range of his hurdle times for the past four years, and the Paris World champion remained in third.  However with 5358, his deficit against leader Clay grew from 71 to 125. 

Jangy Addy performed near his best level with a 13.73, and his aggregate 5259 kept him in fourth place ahead of Ashton Eaton, whose 14.26 hurdle performance left him in fifth with 5167. 

Clay pulls away in seventh event

The Discus Throw proved to be advantageous for Clay who began to pull away at this point after a 52.74m opening effort.  His total of 6411 gave him a 194-point lead over Pappas, who moved into second place with 6217 after a 49.44 fling.  Hardee, who threw 52.68 in April at the Texas Relays, could manage only 42.41, but he held the third spot with 6180.  

Meanwhile, Addy stayed in contention to challenge for the third spot with a 47.08 result, as his 6069 kept him within 111 of Pappas.  Eaton remained in fifth with 5825 after a 39.69 throw. 

In the Pole Vault, the top two competitors gave optimum performances. Clay vaulted 5.00m, just off his PB of 5.10, for an eight-event total of 7321.  However, his lead shrank to 132 when Pappas equaled his decathlon PB of 5.20 for a 7189 total. 

Hardee again could not reach his Texas Relays level of 5.25, but a 5.00 leap kept him in third by 290 points at 7090, ahead of the 6800 of Addy after the latter’s 4.40 performance.  Eaton saw his PB of 4.85 zoom to 5.10 here, resulting in 6766 to move within 34 points of Addy at 6766. 

Clay’s Javelin toss of 70.55m - only the second time he has surpassed seventy metres in his career - gave him a nine-event total of 8219 and theoretically put him within striking range of Dan O’Brien’s American record of 8891.  For Clay to accomplish the task, he would need a time of 4:41.24 or faster in the 1500, a time he had not run for seven years. 

Meanwhile, Pappas’ Javelin mark of 59.34 was in keeping with his general range over the last few years, but it paled in comparison with the two PB throws - and a 63.69 best - by Hardee.  Pappas saw his advantage in second place drop to a mere 33 points over Hardee, as the two totaled 7917 and 7884, respectively.

Although still in fourth, Addy dropped off the leaders’ pace even more with a 57.10 fling to accumulate 7494 with one event remaining.

Highest score by an American for 16 years

The competitors had as much as three hours to rest before the concluding 1500 Metres.  Clay ran tentatively in the early going, but then he put on a small burst in the second half of the race to end with 4:50.97, giving him a final total of 8832—a world leader for 2008, a personal best and the highest score by an American in the last sixteen years. 

Ahead of Clay, Hardee was sprinting hard the last 200 metres and with a near-PB 4:44.79, he ended with 8534 to snare second place from Pappas, whose 4:54.08 brought him a final tally of 8511, his best score since the 2004 Olympic Trials. 

Jake Arnold finished fourth with 8130, ahead of Eaton’s 8122 and Addy’s 8025, as six broke the 8000 mark. For the record, Joe Detmer showed the field how to run the 1500 as he won the event with splendid 4:07.63. 

Clay took a deep breath and reviewed the past two days.  "Like I was saying yesterday, we started out very well in the 100. It was a decathlon PR for me and then it just went badly after that. The long jump and shot put were actually terrible. I started out in the high jump almost as badly as I did in the long and the shot, but we pulled it together. I have a team of coaches here that are in my face and they just don't let it go. If I didn't have my support system here, I think this would have been a very bad decathlon for me."

Clay, the 2005 World champion continued, "I think there are tons of room for improvement. I think this just goes to show everybody I am a very tough competitor mentally."

The veteran Pappas reflected on his goals:  "I am really excited. I had the World Championships under my belt, and really the only thing left in my career that I feel is missing is a good Olympic games. Sydney didn't turn out all that well. I was fifth. 2004 was kind of a disaster really. This is the one thing left on my resume. If I could walk away with a medal it would mean everything," Pappas said upon making his third Olympic team. 

Ed Gordon for the IAAF

Click here for complete US Trials Results

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