USATF Team USA Report, Day 8, morning: Clay lengthens lead in decathlon
Posted Friday, 22 August, 2008
BEIJING - Bryan Clay put more distance between himself and his Olympic decathlon competitors during Friday morning competition at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.
Clay (Glendora, Calif.) added to his commanding lead in the decathlon. He opened the day with the #2 time in the 110m hurdles, running 13.93 for 984 points. He won the discus with a season-best toss of 53.79m/176-5 (950) and cleared 5.0m/16-4.75 (910) to tie his season best and place third in the pole vault. After seven events, with only the javelin and the 1,500m remaining, Clay leads the competition with 7,365 points. Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus was second with 7,049 points and Alexander Pogorelov of Russia third with 6,979.
Heading into the pole vault, Trey Hardee (Austin, Texas) was in fourth place after six events, with 6,114 points. On his first two attempts at his opening height of 4.70m/15-5, Hardee did not make an attempt over the bar, coming straight down. On his final try, he got over the bar but knocked it down, giving him no height and no points. Hardee had run 14.20 in the hurdles (949 points) and threw a season-best 43.55 in the discus (737).
Philip Dunn (San Diego, Calif.) completed his third 50 km race walk of the year and the 27th of his career Friday morning, placing 39th in 4:08:32 in what was an even-paced effort for Dunn. Contested under sunny but dry conditions, the race was won by Alex Schwazer of Italy in an Olympic Record time of 3:37:09.
For more information on Team USA at the Olympic Games, including athlete quotes, event schedule, TV schedule and complete results, visit www.usatf.org
Team USA athlete quotes
Philip Dunn, men's 50 km race walk: "The conditions were pretty good, actually. I think we had a good time, and the times at the front show that. It wasn't as humid as it has been. I'm elated, one, because it's over. Coming in, I knew it had been a long year. This is my third 50k this year. I think it was as good an effort as when I got the "A" qualifier at the World Cup this year. 50K racing is always a challenge. It's brutal. World champions were dropping left and right. I had a strong and steady race."
On if he'll continue race walking: "Four years ago I was pretty sure I was done, but I love it so much. The other athletes, the travel, the camaraderie, I don't know how you replace that. Maybe I'll find something else. So we'll see."
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