Olympic Track and Field 2016: Men's Decathlon Medal Winners, Times and Results
The winner of the men's decathlon is customarily deemed "the world's greatest athlete," and the United States' Ashton Eaton wasn't about to give up the title at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The American defended the gold medal he earned at the 2012 Games in London with an Olympic-record performance over the course of the two-day competition that concluded Thursday. He finished with 8,893 points, which tied for an Olympic best, per the Games' official website.
Eaton became the first man to repeat as the Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon since Daley Thompson in 1984. NBC Olympics reacted to the performance:
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France's Kevin Mayer captured silver with 8,834 points, while Canada's Damian Warner took home bronze with 8,666 points.
Here is an event-by-event breakdown of the 2016 Olympic decathlon. The overall results and those for each individual event are courtesy of the Rio Games' official website.
| 1 | Ashton Eaton (United States) | 8,893 |
| 2 | Kevin Mayer (France) | 8,834 |
| 3 | Damian Warner (Canada) | 8,666 |
| 4 | Kai Kazmirek (Germany) | 8,580 |
| 5 | Larbi Bourrada (Algeria) | 8,521 |
100-Meter Run
| 1 | Damian Warner (Canada) | 10.30 |
| 2 | Ashton Eaton (United States) | 10.46 |
| 3 | Zach Ziemek (United States) | 10.71 |
It wasn’t quite Usain Bolt’s 9.81 seconds in the 100-meter dash, but Warner jumped out to an early lead with the victory. His time of 10.30 seconds paced the field by 0.16 seconds, and the gold-medal favorite Eaton finished second.
Goodman noted Eaton won the 100-meter dash in the London Games, so Warner created some small and early separation in a strong event for the defending gold medalist.
Long Jump
| 1 | Ashton Eaton (United States) | 7.94 |
| 2 | Kai Kazmirek (Germany) | 7.69 |
| 3 | Damian Warner (Canada) | 7.67 |
Eaton regained his spot atop the leaderboard with a dominant performance in the long jump. He beat out Kai Kazmirek of Germany by 0.25 meters (7.94 to 7.69).
To his credit, Warner stayed well within striking distance with the third-best long jump of 7.67 meters.
Shot Put
| 1 | Kevin Mayer (France) | 15.76 |
| 2 | Bastien Auzeil (France) | 15.41 |
| 3 | Luiz Alberto de Araujo (Brazil) | 15.26 |
Goodman called shot put one of Eaton's "weaker events," and it showed when he finished in 10th place.
Mayer seized the opportunity with the best throw at 15.79 meters. It was the first time in the decathlon that he announced himself as a true medal threat after finishing outside the top three in the first two events. France controlled the shot put, as Mayer's countryman Bastien Auzeil tallied the second-best mark of 15.41 meters.
Mayer found himself in third place behind Eaton and Warner through the first three events. NBC Olympics shared some of the American's highlights in the early going:
High Jump
| 1 | Jeremy Taiwo (United States) | 2.19 |
| 2 | Thomas Van der Plaetsen (Belgium) | 2.16 |
| 3 | Cedric Dubler (Australia) | 2.13 |
An American outside of Eaton impressed in the high jump when Jeremy Taiwo soared over the rest of the field at 2.19 meters. He moved from a distant ninth place to a mere point outside of second after the event.
As for Eaton, he was in a disappointing tie for 14th in the event, which was far from his mark in the London Games. Goodman said he tied for second in the high jump in 2012, although he held onto his overall lead through the opening four events.
400-Meter Run
| 1 | Ashton Eaton (United States) | 46.07 |
| 2 | Kai Kazmirek (Germany) | 46.75 |
| 3 | Damian Warner (Canada) | 47.35 |
Eaton redeemed himself in the final event of Wednesday's schedule with a dominant performance in the 400-meter run. He finished at 46.07 seconds, which was the best time of the field and had him comfortably ahead of second-place Kazmirek's time of 46.75 seconds.
NBC Olympics passed along the highlights from Eaton in the final two events of the first day of competition:
Kazmirek's outing in the 400-meter run put him into second place in the overall standings and ahead of Warner, who finished in third in the event at 47.35 seconds.
110-Meter Hurdles
| 1 | Damian Warner (Canada) | 13.58 |
| 2 | Ashton Eaton (United States) | 13.80 |
| 3 | Kevin Mayer (France) | 14.02 |
Warner and Eaton picked up right where they left off in the first event Thursday, finishing first and second, respectively. Warner reclaimed the second-place spot behind Eaton in the overall standings with a time of 13.58 seconds, while Eaton clocked in at 13.80 seconds.
As for Kazmirek, he fell into fourth place overall after finishing in dead last in the fourth heat of the 110-meter hurdles. It was a critical blow in the race toward the podium.
Discus Throw
| 1 | Lindon Victor (Grenada) | 53.24 |
| 2 | Keisuke Ushiro (Japan) | 49.90 |
| 3 | Zach Ziemek (United States) | 49.42 |
Goodman called the discus throw "decisively Eaton's weakest event," but the American finished in a solid eighth place. It was a drastic improvement from the 22nd place he earned in London, which didn't stop him from winning gold four years ago.
Warner missed a chance to make a move on Eaton, and his throw of 44.93 meters "was over five meters shorter than his personal best," per Goodman.
Nobody could keep up with Lindon Victor of Grenada, who posted a monstrous throw of 53.24 meters. He was the only competitor who topped the 50-meter mark, and he did so in commanding fashion. While he still finished a distant 16th place in the overall standings, it was a memorable moment on the Olympic stage.
Pole Vault
| 1 | Kevin Mayer (France) | 5.40 |
| 2 | Thomas Van der Plaetsen (Belgium) | 5.40 |
| T3 | Zach Ziemek (United States) | 5.20 |
If there was any doubts who would win the gold in the decathlon, Eaton put those to rest in the pole vault. He earned 972 more points with a pole vault of 5.20 meters, and Goodman said "all he needs to do is complete both remaining events" to capture that victory.
Warner struggled some with a vault of 4.70 meters and dropped from second place to third. Mayer placed himself in favorable position with a vault of 5.40 meters and moved into second with a mere two events remaining.
After the pole vault, it seemed to be a race to see who would end up with the silver and bronze medals.
Javelin Throw
| 1 | Leonel Suarez (Cuba) | 72.32 |
| 2 | Kurt Felix (Grenada) | 69.92 |
| 3 | Adam Sebastian Helcelet (Czech Republic) | 68.20 |
Only one competitor cleared 70 meters in the javelin throw, and it wasn’t Eaton.
Cuba’s Leonel Suarez launched the javelin an impressive 72.32 meters and paced the field. Of more importance in the medal race, Eaton was a distant 11th in Group B at 59.77 meters, while Mayer added more space between himself and Warner with a throw of 65.04 meters, which was third-best in Group B compared to Warner's fifth-best 63.19 meters.
Eaton took the lead into the final event at 8,104 points to Mayer's 8,060, but IAAF noted there was some drama in the middle of the javelin:
1,500-Meter Run
| 1 | Larbi Bourrada (Algeria) | 4:14.60 |
| 2 | Akihiko Nakamura (Japan) | 4:18.37 |
| 3 | Jeremy Taiwo (United States) | 4:21.96 |
In true championship form, Eaton waited until the closing stretch of the 1,500-meter run to make a charge rather than sit back and earn the bare-minimum time needed to clinch gold.
Not only did Eaton finish his gold-medal performance, but he turned in the third-fastest time of the second heat at the 1,500 at 4:23.33. Raphielle Johnson of NBC Sports tweeted "Hall of Fame" in describing Eaton, and it was hard to argue after he won gold in the physically grueling decathlon for the second straight Olympics.
Warner finished in fourth in the second heat and clinched bronze, while silver medalist Mayer was right behind in fifth.
Reaction
Eaton talked about his motivation on the NBC broadcast after the win, via Chris Peters of CBS Sports: “My team, my coach, the whole United States, my wife, my family, everyone that was behind me all these years, this was for them. It wasn’t hard to keep going.”
Eaton also talked about his mindset heading into the 1,500-meter run, via Peters: “I was thinking if this guy goes, if I have to run to put myself in the hospital, that’s how hard I have to run.”
He ran plenty hard enough and earned his second straight Olympic gold. Peters noted Eaton “wouldn’t commit to anything, but he certainly didn’t rule out a potential return,” when asked about the 2020 Games in Tokyo, so his brilliance may continue for yet another Olympics.
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