Posted on: Monday, August 23, 2004

Clay has fastest time in decathlon 100 meters

Advertiser Staff

ATHENS, Greece — Hawai'i's Bryan Clay had the fastest time in the 100-meter dash today, the first of 10 decathlon events at the Olympic Stadium.

Clay finished in 10.44 seconds, .06 seconds faster than Dmitriy Karpov of Kazakhstan. Clay, 24, earned 989 points toward his total score. Fellow U.S. athlete Tom Pappas finished in 10.80 and earned 906 points. Decathlon favorite Roman Sebrle finished in 10.85 (894 points).

Clay's personal best in the 100 is 10.39 and 1,001 points.

Clay, a Castle High alum, will finish the first day with the long jump, shot put, high jump and 400-meter run.

Tomorrow, the decathlon finishes with the 110-meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1,500-meter run.

Athletes earn points on an international scoring table that evaluates and awards points for each performance. The winner is the athlete with the most points after 10 events.

Clay won the U.S. Olympic decathlon trials in July, upsetting favorite Pappas at Sacramento, Calif.