There are some moments in sport that become more than a result, they become a collective memory. People can recall where they were sitting in the stadium, they can still see the finish line photo and they can still hear the announcer’s voice.
Ashton Eaton’s rain-soaked world record was that type of memory.
Kirby Lee
In front of his home crowd at a packed Hayward Field, Eaton lined up for the final event of the Olympic Trials decathlon knowing that only a personal best in the 1500m stood between him and a world record.
With the crowd on their feet and race-leading athlete Curtis Beach stepping aside to wave him on to the tape, Eaton sprinted to the line to make history with two seconds to spare.
Eaton’s victory claimed his second world record in three months, as he won the World Indoor title in the heptathlon in March by breaking his own world record.
With both combined-event world records to his name, Eaton went to London as the clear Olympic favorite, and he did not disappoint. He took the lead in the first event and never relented on the way to winning gold and fully claiming the title of the World’s Greatest Athlete.