What you need to know about Ashton Eaton
The American decathlete is the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion
By Callum Ng, CBC Sports
The decathlon is 10 athletics events over two days. Ashton Eaton is the undisputed king of this incredible physical test.
Eaton holds the world record and is the reigning Olympic champion.
Famous moment
Eaton won at London 2012, becoming Olympic champion.
But his 9045 point total from the 2015 world championships in Beijing really stands out. He broke his own world record by six points and made the statement that he is the man to beat in Rio.
He said it...
- "I am motivated by perusing my own curiosity about how good I can be."
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"To me, I look at the multi-event as kind of like the secret service. They're doing really great things but nobody knows what they're doing and you have to be in the secret service in order to know what it takes to be in there and how special it is."
What they're saying about him...
- "I always want to win gold, but Ashton's an incredible athlete as well and he wants that same thing for himself. So it's great for him to be able to push me and hopefully I can push him as well." - Damian Warner, Canadian decathlete, and Ashton's competitor and friend
- "Sometimes it's difficult because when you train with the best athlete in the world, I'm always the worst one." - Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Olympic heptathlon bronze medallist, she and Ashton are married
Strengths
Ashton Eaton is a gifted runner, his 400-metres in the decathlon at the 2015 world championships was actually Top 40 in the world at the end of the year — against athletes who train for the event full-time.
Weaknesses
Eaton can gain points in his throws, particularly the shot put and discus. His javelin improved greatly after coach Harry Marra saw him kidding around at practice with taekwondo kicks.
"I said 'Put the javelin in your hand Ashton, just come in and when you land, turn that right hip like in taekwondo,' " recalls Marra. "Boom, it took off, he was throwing almost [61 metres]."
Fun fact
Ashton and Brianne Theisen-Eaton, the bronze medallist in the heptathlon at Rio 2016, are married. They train together in Eugene, Oregon.
Hometown:
Bend, Oregon