Eaton's Mastery of the Decathlon has been Mind-Boggling, What's Next?

Published by Adam Schneider/dyestatcollege.com editor on July 3rd, 2016

In the Pantheon of Oregon athletes there are just a few greats. Oregon has had many great track athletes and a few in other sports that have won major trophies, league championships and Olympic gold medals. 

In 2014, the Oregonian had a poll that that resulted with Ashton Eaton being named the greatest Oregon-born athlete. Steve Prefontaine was second, Danny Ainge third, and Mel Renfro fourth. Others that should be considered would be Joni Huntley, Mariel Zagunis and Dan O’Brien. (I contest he might be the greatest athlete ever).

What makes Ashton Eaton special is not just the 2012 Olympic championship, 2013 and 2015 World Championships, 2012, 2014 and 2016 World Indoor Championships, and the indoor Heptathlon (6645 points) and outdoor Decathlon world records (9045 from the 2015 World Championships at Beijing) it is his ability to pick up cues from his coach and act on them. 

Eaton was able to make the World Championships in the Decathlon three years after he started training in seven of the events. When Dan Steele, the man that brought him to Oregon and made him an NCAA champion in 2008 (8055 points), first had him vault he was scared he might kill the kid it looked so bad. In 2009, Eaton was second in the U.S. Championships with 8075 points and after a long season he scored 8061 for 18th at the World Championships, the last time he did not win a medal at a global final. 

In that first year with Harry Marra, the veteran coach saw a remarkable trait that he had never seen before with any of his athletes over 40 years: the ability to pick up on a coaching cue immediately and as a result, not having to repeat. Because of the strain that training has on athletes you have to limit the training. Someone like Eaton that can learn so quickly that it is easy to improve quickly and not get hurt. Coach Marra remembers that two or three weeks after he started with Eaton, Ashton came up to him with a serious statement requesting that Coach Marra tell him exactly what he needs to do in every event. Coach Marra still feels the pressure because he is responsible for Eaton’s success. Eaton is so good at placing action to the coaching cues.

In 2010, Eaton won the NCAA indoor heptathlon in a world record 6499 points. He ended up with his first injury and missed training, resulting in passing up the Oregon Preview. He won his third consecutive Pac-12 Decathlon (8154 points) and won the 110-meter hurdles (13.54) and long jump (25-7.75). The loss of training time cost him a shot at an NCAA record but he still scored 8457, six points off the collegiate record. He tried to come back the next day in the long jump but his back tightened after his first long jump attempt. He still won the Bowerman Award for the top NCAA athlete that year.

In 2011, he reset the heptathlon world record at 6568 points and then set the top U.S. decathlon mark outdoors at 8729 to win the national title. He lost the World Championships (8505) to Trey Hardee, and that would be his last loss to Hardee. In 2012, he started spending significant time at Marra’s home base of California and training there and Oregon with his girlfriend (since the Brazilian Pan Am Juniors in 2007) Brianne Theisen. 

He won the World indoor heptathlon title in a world record 6645 and won the U.S. indoor title in the long jump at 26-5.5. His marks in meets across the country indicated he had the potential to put together a world record and he did that at the Olympic Trials (9039) by setting a world record score for running events in a combined competition (10.21, 46.70, 13.70, and 4:14.48 for the four running events). He won the long jump with a decathlon world record 27 feet (8.23m), the third-best jump by an American in 2012. He won the London Olympics with 8869 points. 

In 2013. he became the first Olympic Decathlon champion to win the world title the next year. With Trey Hardee through with an automatic bid to the World Championships following his 2011 gold medal, Eaton won the U.S. championships with just 8291 points and won the World title with 8809 points. 

He took 2014 off from the decathlon and took on the 400 hurdles because he wanted to try it. In his first year in the event he was ranked sixth in the world, second in the U.S. and ran 48.69 in Glasgow. 

In 2015, he used his pass from winning the 2013 World Championships. At the World Championships he set another world record with 9045 points by running 10.23 in the 100, 25-10.25 long jump, 47-7.75 shot put, 6-7 high jump, a personal-best 45.00 in the 400, 13.69 110 hurdles, 142-2 discus throw, 17-0.75 pole vault, lifetime-best 208-9 in the javelin throw, and 4:17.52 for the 1500. 

In Eaton’s first decathlon of the 2016 season, he scored 4560 the first day with marks of 10.34, 25-8.75, 46-0.75, 6-6.75, and 46.30. He started the next day by going 13.60, 135-9, 17-2.75, 189-9, and 4:25.15 for 8750 points and the world lead.

It is frequently said that the greatest athlete in the world is the world record holder in the decathlon. His ability to pick up skills quickly and his pure physical ability indicate he could master many sports. 

It is possible we are watching the greatest athlete ever and he is just 5-11. In the past I have suggested other sports he could do when he retires from track and field and he thinks that he might want to become a baseball player (base runner or maybe take it on fully). As a kid he wanted to learn martial arts and became a black belt in tae kwon do quickly. None of us should be surprised to see him in the professional uniform of some other sport making millions of dollars. He was an all-state football player at Mt. View and could have easily garnered a scholarship with the Chip Kelly national-title contending Ducks. 

Pay attention world, he is truly something special.