BEIJING — The "World's Greatest Athlete" stands 5 feet 11, weighs 185 pounds and hails from Castle High School in Kane'ohe.

Clay, whose high school coach predicted his greatness, claimed the moniker by winning the Olympic Games decathlon Friday before 91,000 applauding fans in the Bird's Nest. He is believed to be the first Hawai'i-raised athlete to win an individual Olympic gold since Ford Konno (swimming) in 1952 and is the first American in 12 years to win the decathlon.

"I probably have the biggest posse in the track and field world," said a beaming Clay, just past midnight in Beijing.

"Let's see, my mom and dad were here, my wife, my father-in-law, my uncle, my aunt, two cousins, my grandparents and, oh yes, numerous people from Hawai'i, and all my coaches," said Clay.

"Did I leave anybody out? If I did I'm sorry, but there were so many here for me and it's tough to get them all."

Most of Clay's contingent cheered his every step — waving American flags every time he stepped onto the track, or ran down a runway, or moved into a throwing ring.

A silver medalist in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Clay jumped out early, winning the first two events in the two-day, 10-event discipline. He held the lead throughout, battling rain, fatigue and sleep-deprivation to handily beat Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus.

"This is an absolutely amazing time," said Clay. "It's something I've been working hard for, for the last eight years."

Clay, a father of two, and the son of a Japanese-American mother and an African-American father, now joins an elite group of Americans — Bob Mathias, Milt Campbell, Rafer Johnson, Bill Toomey, Bruce Jenner and Dan O'Brien — to win Olympic decathlon title since World War II.

Jenner and others got to decorate Wheaties boxes after their Olympic golds.

"I'd love for that to happen to me, too," said Clay. "But who knows?"

Clay's total of 8,791 points came up short of the Olympic record of 8,893 points that many expected him to beat.

"Tell you what, I wasn't even thinking about the points," he said. "My only goal coming here was to win. If you do well, the score will always take care of itself.

"And I wanted to have fun doing it. I wanted to have some memories that would last a lifetime.

"Now, to be the Olympic champion, and to have little kids saying they want to be a decathlete and be like Bryan Clay, that just blows my mind."

Said Daniel Awde of Great Britain, who finished 21st: "I'm a young guy, only 20 and this is my first Olympics. I've got years to go, and maybe some day I can get a little closer to Bryan. I'm proud to be in the same event he's in."

What also amazes his opponents is what Clay gets out his relatively slight frame, with almost all of the great decathletes at least 6 feet 1.

"Bryan's smaller than most of us, but it doesn't really matter," said Jangy Addy, a Tennessee graduate who competed for the Liberian team. "Bryan puts us bigger guys to shame, even in the throwing events. He's got this incredible drive. He's so motivated to excel. He's just the greatest."

Clay, who finished first in the 100-meter dash, long jump and discus and second in the 110 hurdles and shot put, built a sizable lead going into the final event — the 1,500 meters, considered his weakest event.

Clay had labored through those three and a half laps of the 1,500 meters in 5:06.59, placing 13th in a 13-man race, and in the process losing 239 of the 479-point edge he had on Krauchanka. But when Clay crossed the finish line, the first to congratulate him was Roman Sebrle, the Czech Republic's World and Olympic record holder who beat out Clay in Athens but battled through injuries that almost all decathletes face for a sixth-place finish.

"That was a very special moment for me," he said. "Roman didn't want to run the 1,500, but I wanted him there at the finish. It's something I would have done for him, and it's something he did for me."

"At the Olympics, it's not just about the points, but about the title," said Sebrle. "Bryan is a good guy. He is a friend and a good champion. I just had to give him the crown today."