 Eaton in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ashton James Eaton |
| Born | January 21, 1988[1] Portland, Oregon, U.S.[1] |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event(s) | Decathlon, heptathlon |
| Club | Oregon Track Club |
| Coached by | Harry Marra |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | Decathlon: 9,045 Heptathlon: 6,645 (WR) |
Medal record | |
Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-point barrier in the decathlon, with 9,039 points, a score he bettered on August 29, 2015, when he beat his own world record with a score of 9,045 points, and remains the only person to exceed 9000 points twice. His world record was broken by Frenchman Kevin Mayer on September 16, 2018, with a total of 9,126 points, who became the third man to pass the 9,000-point barrier.[2]
He competed for the Oregon Track Club Elite team based in Eugene, Oregon. In college, Eaton competed for the University of Oregon, where he was a five-time NCAA champion, and won The Bowerman award in 2010. In 2011, Eaton won the first international medal of his career, a silver, in the decathlon at the 2011 World Championships. The following year, Eaton broke his own world record in the heptathlon at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, and then broke the world record in the decathlon at the Olympic Trials. After setting the world record, Eaton won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He successfully defended his Olympic title at the 2016 Summer Olympics by winning the decathlon gold medal and tying the Olympic record. Eaton is only the third Olympian (after Bob Mathias of the US and Great Britain's Daley Thompson) to achieve back-to-back gold medals in the decathlon.[3]
Eaton announced his retirement from the sport on January 3, 2017.[4][5]
- ^ a b c d "Ashton Eaton". teamusa.org. USOC. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ "France's Mayer breaks decathlon world record". Reuters. September 16, 2018.
- ^ "Top 10 greatest U.S. Summer Olympic gold medalists of all time". ABC News. August 15, 2016.
- ^ "We Are Eaton – Healthy Food & Food Education". Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ "Olympic medallists Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen-Eaton announce retirements". BBC Sport. May 17, 2018.