Posted on: Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Clay in third after six events
Advertiser Staff and News Services
ATHENS, Greece — With an extended family "watching" his every move on the Internet 8,300 miles away, Hawai'i's Bryan Clay ran, jumped and threw his way to his finest first-day decathlon score yesterday, on the world's biggest sports stage.
Associated Press photos After six events, Clay is in third place in the 39-man field with 5,512 points, 155 points behind leader Dmitriy Karpov of Kazakhstan.
The seventh event, the discus, was completed late last night. Results were not available at press time. The final four events will be contested today.
Clay, the top finisher at last month's U.S. Olympic Trials, believes he has a shot at gold. His family, bonding in Waikiki over live results on a laptop computer and delayed TV broadcasts, agrees.
"He's doing so good I can't even believe it," said Clay's wife, Sarah. "His overall point total is a huge personal record for him. He's never been over 4,500 before and he's usually around 4,400. Right now he's probably just so happy to have that score going into the second day. He's still relaxed and confident in what he can do. I can rest assured tonight knowing him."
Clay's only glitch on the first day came in the 400. His time of 49.19 was 1.34 seconds slower than his best and dropped him from second.
"I would have liked to have high jumped a little higher, but the only one I feel like I missed on was the quarter (400)," Clay said. "We had some confusion on which heat I would be in. I thought I would be in three. The next thing I knew I was in heat two. I got about a stride to warm up. I feel good, but my leg locked up."
His family here will be watching, and hitting the "refresh" button on their computer another few hundred times. Clay's parents are staying in a hotel room to watch the decathlon, along with Sarah and her family, who are in from Seattle.
The news came agonizingly slowly yesterday. Coach Kevin Reid's wife called with a few upbeat updates. The news flashes the family saw on TV also left them optimistic.
"Bryan looks great," Sarah said. "He was getting the crowd going. Bryan only does that when he's really feeling good."
The gathering grew louder with every Clay achievement. His victory, in 10.44, in the 100 brought yells. His 26-foot, 1 1/2-inch leap to win the long jump, on his final try, had adults jumping around the hotel room. "There was no mark so they gave it to me," Clay said. "We missed on the 400 but we hit four out of five."
Not bad in an event as diverse and physically and emotionally difficult as decathlon.
"Once I saw him on TV this afternoon it sunk in," Sarah said. "He's there and he's got USA on his chest. He's with the biggest guys in the world — world-record holders, world champs, Olympic gold medal winners, and he's right there with them. Just seeing that is so exciting for all of us."
Sarah and Bryan's mother, Michele Vandenberg, decided not to go to Athens. After much prayer, they felt their presence with all the security fears would be a distraction. Instead, they came up with the plan to bring the family together here. Today the 'ohana will try to will, and pray, their man home.
"It's all in God's hands now," Sarah said. "When I know he's about to jump, run or throw, I'm there saying prayers to give him strength and energy and carry him through.
"Right now, there are four or five guys who could come away with the gold. ... Right now, I'm still betting on Bryan."
usatf.org contributed to this report.
The 24-year-old Castle High School graduate was spectacular in his first four events at Olympic Stadium at Athens, Greece, winning the first two outright. However, Clay ran into problems in the 400 meters that concluded yesterday's action.
Hawai'i's Bryan Clay, right, and American compatriot Tom Pappas run in the 100-meter discipline of the decathlon at the Olympics at Athens. Clay, a Castle High School alum, won in 10.44 seconds.
An unannounced schedule change sent him out to run the 400 some 10 minutes before he was warmed up and ready.
Officials initially thought he had fouled on the attempt, but checked the board.
Hawai'i's Bryan Clay competes in the high jump portion of the Olympic decathlon in Athens, Greece. After one day's events, he was third in the 39-man field with a 4,554-point total.
