Wednesday, 4:45pm
The 100-meter dash, long jump, and shot put events of the men’s decathlon took place earlier this morning, with the high jump set to begin now and 400-meter dash to follow, rounding out the first half of competition.
London 2012 gold medalist Ashton Eaton of Team USA sits atop the standings with 2803 points, 95 points ahead of Canada’s Damian Warner. Kevin Mayer of France sits just seven points behind Warner with 2699, and Brazil’s Luiz Alberto de Araujo rounds out the top four with 2648 points after three events.
Four years ago, Eaton dominated the field on the first day of competition, winning three of five events – the 100m, long jump, and 400m.
He got off to another strong start in Rio this morning, winning the long jump by a massive 25 centimeters and placing second in the 100m, .16 seconds behind Warner.
Eaton placed 10th in the shot put, one of his weaker events. Mayer had the farthest throw of the day at 15.79m.
Other Team USA members Jeremy Taiwo and Zachery Zeimek sit ninth and tenth respectively in the overall standings. Zeimek finished third behind Eaton in the 100m, and Taiwo’s sixth-place, 14.92m shot put throw was tops among the Americans.
Full top 10:
- Ashton Eaton (USA) – 2803 points
- Damian Warner (CAN) – 2708
- Kevin Mayer (FRA) – 2699
- Luiz Alberto de Araujo (BRA) – 2648
- Kai Kazmirek (GER) – 2633
- Oleskiy Kasyanov (UKR) – 2614
- Larbu Bourrada (ALG) – 2572
- Kurt Felix (GRN) – 2567
- Jeremy Taiwo (USA) – 2565
- Zachery Ziemek (USA) – 2552