Ashton Eaton

Ashton Eaton, born January 21, 1988, in Portland, is a retired American decathlete widely regarded as one of the greatest multi-event athletes in history. He was a two-time Olympic champion and the second decathlete ever to break the 9,000-point barrier, a feat he accomplished twice, the only athlete to do so.

Eaton won his first international medal, a silver, at the 2011 World Championships. He then broke the world record in both the indoor heptathlon at the 2012 World Indoor Championships and the decathlon at the 2012 Olympic Trials, before claiming gold at the 2012 London Olympics. He successfully defended his Olympic title at the 2016 Rio Games, tying the Olympic record and becoming only the third man in history to win back-to-back decathlon golds, after Bob Mathias and Daley Thompson. In college, Eaton was a five-time NCAA champion at the University of Oregon and won The Bowerman award in 2010.

Eaton announced his retirement on January 3, 2017. His decathlon world record of 9,045 points stood until it was surpassed by Kevin Mayer in 2018.