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| Full name | Bryan Ezra Tsumoru Clay | |
| Date of birth | January 3, 1980 | |
| Place of birth | Austin, Texas, United States | |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |
| Weight | 185 pounds (84 kg) | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  United States |
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| Men's athletics | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 2008 Beijing | Decathlon |
| Silver | 2004 Athens | Decathlon |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2005 Helsinki | Decathlon |
| World Indoor Championships | ||
| Gold | 2008 Valencia | Heptathlon |
| Silver | 2006 Moscow | Heptathlon |
| Silver | 2004 Budapest | Heptathlon |
Bryan Ezra Tsumoru Clay (born January 3, 1980) is an American decathlete. He is the reigning Olympic champion and was also World champion in 2005.
Contents |
Biography
Clay was born in Austin, Texas[1] and raised in Hawaii. He is Afro-Asian. His mother, Michele Ishimoto, was a Japanese immigrant to America. His father, Greg Clay, was African American.[2] His parents divorced when he was in elementary school and he was raised primarily by his mother.
Clay has a younger brother, Nikolas, who was also a standout athlete on the Azusa Pacific University track team.
He graduated from James B. Castle High School (Kaneohe, Hawaii) in 1998.
Clay is married to Sarah Smith. They have a son, Jacob (b. 2005), and a daughter Katherine (Kate) (b. 2007).[3] Clay believes that a balance of mental, physical, and emotional health will help him in athletic competition.[3] Clay is a devout Christian.[4]
Athletic career
He competed in track and field in high school, during which time he was coached by Dacre Bowen and Martin Hee. He then attended Azusa Pacific University, an Evangelical Christian college near Los Angeles, California, where he competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and was coached by Kevin Reid, who still coaches him. Clay still trains at Azusa Pacific University. Clay decided to compete in the decathlon after persuasion from Olympian Chris Huffins.[1]
Clay won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, and finished first at the 2005 World Championships. He was unable to compete in the 2007 World Championships due to injuries.[5]
Clay won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in the decathlon.[6][7] His victory margin of 240 points in the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the largest since 1972.[8] The Olympic decathlon champion is referred to as the "World's Greatest Athlete" and prior to the Olympics, Clay was tested by SPARQ to establish his SPARQ Rating across a number of different sports. The test is meant to measure sport-specific athleticism and in the football test Clay recorded a score of 130.40, the highest ever recorded. By comparison, Reggie Bush scored a 93.38 on the popular test.[9]
He is one of two Olympians featured on a special edition post-Beijing Olympics Wheaties cereal box; the other was gymnast Nastia Liukin.[10]
His attempts to regain his World Championships decathlon title were thwarted by a hamstring injury in June 2009. This caused him to drop out of the US trials thus he missed the chance to compete at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.[11]
Achievements
- Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's decathlon - gold medal
- 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships - gold medal
- 2005 World Championships in Athletics - gold medal
- Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's decathlon - silver medal
- 2004 World Indoor Championships - silver medal
Personal best
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008) |
- 100 m - 10.36
- 200 m - 21.34
- 400 m - 47.78
- 110 m hurdles - 13.74
- 1500 m - 4:38.93
- long jump - 7.96
- high jump - 2.10
- pole vault - 5.15
- shot put - 16.27
- discus throw - 55.87 (world decathlon best)
- javelin throw - 72.00
- 60 m - 6.65
- 60 m hurdles - 7.77
- 1000 m - 2:49.41
- decathlon - 8832
- heptathlon - 6371
See also
References
- ^ a b Hunt, Nigel; Neil Maidment (2008-08-22). "FACTBOX: Gold medalist Bryan Clay". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/idUSPEK18089420080822. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ "Bryan Clay Profile & Bio". 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics (NBC). August 8, 2008. http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=148/bio/. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ a b Bryan Clay. (2003). Bryan Clay ’03. [Documentary]. Azusa Pacific University. http://www.apu.edu/stories/bclay/. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Sheinin, Dave (2008-08-23). "Decathlon champ from USA world's greatest athlete". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.pittsburghpostgazette.com/pg/08236/906538-123.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ Abrahamson, Alan (2008-08-23). "Clay achin' but brings home gold". Track & Field (NBC). http://www.nbcolympics.com/trackandfield/news/newsid=241924.html#clay+achin+brings+home+gold. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ Associated Press (2008-08-23). "Clay wins gold in Olympic decathlon". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26345555. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ Herman, Martyn (2008-08-22). "Classy Clay romps to decathlon gold". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/idUSPEK17863220080822. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ SPARQ Magazine: Is Brian Clay the world's greatest athlete?
- ^ Bryan Clay On Special Edition Wheaties, KITV-Honolulu, August 28, 2008
- ^ Injury ends Clay's decathlon bid. BBC Sport (2009-06-25). Retrieved on 2009-06-26.
External links
- Bryan Clay's Official Website
- Clay at TrackField.org
- Teleconference interview with decathlete world-champion Bryan Clay prior to the 2007 USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships
- Video: APU Life on Film featuring Clay
| Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Roman Šebrle |
Best Year Performance 2005 – 2006 |
Succeeded by Roman Šebrle |
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