Posted on: Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Clay fought self to stay on track

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

When it was time to head over to the track for practice after classes ended at Castle High and the beach beckoned under cloudless skies, Bryan Clay wrestled with his priorities.

When friends called for weekend fun but there were track meets to run and clinics to attend, there were conflicts to resolve and decisions to make.

When he found himself entered in four, five and — sometimes — six events while others specialized in one or two, there were certainly questions to be considered.

And, when there were a succession of injuries to be overcome and bills to be paid, there would be doubts.

If Clay sometimes wasn't sure of the answers then, the grin says he is now.

It was for a day like yesterday, an arduous Athens afternoon that has put him in the running for an Olympic medal today, that Clay has sweated and persevered for the past six years.

As the decathlon heads into its final day, the 5-foot-11, 184-pound Clay is third — with the gold, silver and bronze medals all still within reach, though by no means guaranteed for the field's smallest performer.

With five events down and five remaining, there should be the confidence built upon the best halfway score of his career, 4,554 points. Halfway to a place on the medal stand, there should be a sense of achievement after first-place finishes in the 100-meter dash and long jump.

Clay is 83 points ahead of the same point in last month's U.S. Olympic Trials, which he won, and 200 points ahead of the pace he had subscribed to as a medal-portending goal before the Olympics.

While 135 points separate Clay from leader Dmitriy Katpov of Kazakhstan, just 40 are between Clay and second place Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic, the Sydney silver medalist and world record holder.

And, yet, all things considered, it could have been an even better day. Clay, as he likes to say, left some points on the track with his one uncharacteristic finish, a 49.19 in the 400 meters for 15th place, an event where he usually clocks a sub-48.0.

But if there was any doubt that Clay belonged among the best decathletes in the world — and there shouldn't have been after his triumph in the U.S. Trials — it was erased early and irrevocably. Clay's 10.44 100 was the second-fastest in an Olympic decathlon. His 26-1ý long jump was nearly a personal best.

They are performances that put into perspective some of the early questions and doubts he grappled with. "Sometimes I wanted to quit," Clay told The Advertiser's Dennis Anderson in a 1999 interview. "It was real lonely and you ask yourself if it's worth it. At that age, friends are so important, and I felt like I was losing all my friends. I couldn't see the future."

Five years later, not only is the future IMAX clear, it could come in gold, silver or bronze.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.