New York: US college student Ashton Eaton upstaged the top multi-event competitors when he set an indoor world record in the men`s heptathlon.
Eaton, a 22-year-old student at the University of Oregon, scored 6,499 points in the seven-event competition at the NCAA championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Saturday, breaking 1996 Olympic gold medallist Dan O`Brien`s 1993 mark of 6,476 points.
Eaton`s total also was 295 points better than IAAF world indoor championships winner Bryan Clay`s score of 6,204 at Doha on Saturday. Clay is the current Olympic champion.
"I didn`t think I had what it took to get it," Eaton, the 2009 US decathlon runner-up, told reporters after running a life-time best 2:32.67 in the concluding 1,000 metres to wipe out O`Brien`s record.
"For a collegiate athlete to score that many points....," Oregon assistant coach Harry Marra said. "That`s a lot of points."Eaton had five personal bests in the two-day event, running 6.71 seconds in the 60 metres, 7.77 in the 60 metres hurdles, clearing 2.11 metres in the high jump and long-jumping 7.73 metres to go with his 1,000 metres time.
His other marks were 13.12 metres in the shot put and 5.10 metres in the pole vault.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, March 14, 2010, 21:24
