Bryan Clay doesn't really have to stretch his body and mind through the 10-event ordeal that will be the decathlon at the AT&T USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis.

As the reigning gold medalist in the decathlon at the World Championships — he rolled up 8,732 points outclassing the best of the rest of the planet's all-around athletes at Helsinki, Finland in 2005 — he earns an automatic bye into the next edition of the biennially staged Worlds, coming up in late August in Osaka, Japan.

All he'd have to do to punch his ticket to Osaka would be to go through the motions of a single event in Indianapolis — good enough to qualify under the rules of USA Track and Field, the national governing body for the sport.

But the 27-year-old graduate of Castle High School in Kane'ohe and Azusa (California) Pacific University, who now lives in Glendora, Calif., has no intention of taking the easy way out.

That's not the Bryan Clay way. Never has been, never will be.

He's determined to give it a 100 percent effort in Indianapolis for three important reasons.

First, he's intent on erasing unhappy memories of the decathlon at the 2006 USA Outdoor Nationals in Indy. Struggling through intense heat, he fell victim to a hypoglycemic attack compounded by sinus problems. With his blood sugar out of whack, he labored through the five events of the first day's program, then bailed out after the first two events of the second day.

Second, he's determined to send a message to decathlon rivals everywhere that his third-place finish in the May 26-27 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge in Gotzis, Austria, was a pure aberration, caused by a simple lapse in the discus throw. Two of his best throws sailed into foul territory, costing him at least 300 points on the international scoring tables, opening the door for Andrai Krauchanka, a talented young athlete from Belarus, to win it all and relegate Clay to the unfamiliar territory of third place.

And, for those who haven't been paying attention the past few years, he'd like to remind one and all that he's still America's best hope to crash through the 9,000-point barrier (Dan O'Brien's 8,891 score in 1992 remains the American record) and stake his claim to gold in both Osaka and Beijing (the 2008 Olympic Games).

"Gotzis was definitely a learning experience for me," Clay said by phone yesterday.

"That (his errant discus throws) just crushed me. It was like getting stabbed over and over again. I felt nauseous in the (discus) ring. After that, it took me a long time to get back into it (the final three decathlon events, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters)."

And by then it was too late.

Krauchanka, 21, went on to win it with a total of 8,617 points, beating out both Czech Republic's Roman Serberle (the 2004 Olympic champion and world record-holder with 9,026 points) and Clay.

Now, Clay focuses on beating his domestic rivals.

Sure, he's the overwhelming choice to win his third USA crown (he'd won the 2004 and 2005 titles). And apart from some minor knee and elbow issues, he considers himself in excellent form. But he's smart enough to take nothing for granted, too.

"I don't ever want to count anybody out," he said. "As we all know, anything can happen in a decathlon."

Just ask principal rival Tom Pappas who, after winning the 2003 USA title, bowed out of the 2004 Athens Olympics with a foot injury, only to bounce back and win the 2006 USA crown after Clay withdrew.

Clay considers Pappas and Paul Terek, his 2004 Olympic teammates, as his principal challengers in Indy, but knows that Robert Arnold, Joe Detmer and Jon Harlan have immense potential, too.

While many track and field insiders consider world decathlon champion Clay the greatest all-around athlete on earth, too few outside the sport recognize his name.

"I'm not really sure why that is, but it doesn't bother me, either," he said.

"I let people know who I am and what I'm all about when I'm competing. And that's good enough for me.

"I don't have two different personalities. I don't change. I'm always the same guy, a family man and an athlete."

Sarah and Bryan Clay, married in 2004, are the parents of 2-year-old son Jacob Ezra and month-old daughter Catherine Joy.

With another mouth to feed, the Clays would appreciate a little more support from the corporate community, but too often find limited backing.

"Sometimes it's kind of saddening," he admits.

"Right now my only sponsors are Nike, Visa and the Straub (Clinic and) Hospital in Hawai'i. Oh, and the Littlefield Steak Company. Anytime I ask them, they send me free steaks.

"It could be better, but that's OK. You always need to count your blessings. I could be working eight hours a day, and never even see the outside."