Even with only one individual record to his name, former Duck Ashton Eaton holds a 220-point lead in first place of the Olympic decathlon. And despite the increased pressure and unfamiliarity of the London venue, he is only 67 points off his day-one pace at the 2012 Olympic Trials that helped set him up to break the world record.
Eaton started his day with a bang, easily winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.35, nearly .09 faster than second-place finisher and fellow American Trey Hardee. That effort broke Bill Toomey’s 44-year-old record in the event, earning 1,011 points.
The long jump wasn’t as easy, but Eaton was the only decathlete who jumped over eight meters, giving him first place and 1,068 points for his jump of 8.03 meters. Hardee tried to catch up, but only finished fifth in the event with a jump of 7.53 meters. Regardless, it left him in second place with 1,936 points. Eaton was the only decathlete over 2,000 points at the end of the second round.
By this time Roman Sebrele — the man whose world record Eaton had bested just a couple months prior — had left the competition due to injury. He was one major threat to Eaton that suddenly disappeared.
The shot put proved to be Eaton’s biggest struggle, with the Bend, Ore., native throwing only 14.66 meters while finishing in tenth. This awarded him 769 points, enough to keep his lead but not enough to create a huge margin between himself and the rest of the decathletes. Hardee was suddenly within 105 points of his score with two events left for the day.
Coming back after a short break, Eaton cleared his first five heights easily. He matched the 2.05-meter jump where he had finished at the Trials, and the world watched to see if he could better his score. Three jumps later, he wandered off the mat frustrated because once again — the 2.08 meter mark had eluded him. Hardee had not been able to clear any height past 1.99 meters. He received 850 points, giving him a total of 3,698 after four events.
The last event of the day was the 400 meters, known as being one of the most painful races in the sport. Eaton had to wait through three heats until he was able to run, watching Hardee win heat three with a time of 48.11. He didn’t let it bother him, and proved it by running in 46.90, a full 1.21 seconds faster than Hardee. He earned 963 points, for a first-day total of 4,661 points.
Going into day two, Eaton has a 220-point advantage over second-place Trey Hardee, but will face some of his toughest events. The true test of whether or not he can beat Hardee will begin Thursday at 1 a.m. PST with the 110-meter hurdles.