Ashton Eaton: The Golden Man for the USA

[by Nikhil B]

USA hero Ashton Eaton once again brings home the gold medal in the decathlon.

Eaton finished the two-day event with 9,045 points on Saturday, six points better than the mark he set at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012. Eaton hasn’t completed a decathlon in the past two years. The last was in Moscow where he clinched the title as well.

The 27-year-old Eaton pushed it to his limits in the final event of the night – the gruesome 1500m run. Suffering from Achilles’ heel pain and knee throbbing he dug deep and found the energy and inspiration to finish the event. He used a faster runner, Larbi Bourrada of Algeria, to pace him around the track. With the finish line in sight, he finished strong.

To beat the world record, Eaton would have to rack up the points needed by running the 1500m in 4 minutes, 18.25 seconds. He crossed the finish line, dropped down with fatigue, and only later realized that he ran it in 4 minutes, 17.52 seconds. Too exhausted even to stand up and wave, Eaton remained on the track until he was helped up by his coach and runners. “You’re always fighting for gold, but when the guy breaks the world record you can’t complain too much,” said Damian Warner, who finished runner-up to Eaton.