Bryan Clay should feel right at home this week at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Not because Eugene, Ore., is known as TrackTown, and as reigning Olympic decathlon gold medalist he is the ultimate track and field athlete.
Not because Clay was the decathlon trials champion there in 2008 (he also won the trials in 2004, in Sacramento, Calif.).
The sense of normalcy will come from once again being overshadowed.
Great American decathletes from the past will be on hand in Eugene this week, including Bruce Jenner. And that means the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" cameras and their favorite subjects will be there, too, since Jenner is married to the matriarch of the madness.
It’s hard to figure if this bizarre clash of extreme overexposure and relative anonymity is good for the decathlon or not. "Thanks for warning," wrote one online commenter. "I will make sure not to watch one minute of the trials."
Clay has been underappreciated throughout one of the greatest careers in the history of his sport. Why should anything be different now, as the Castle High product from Kaneohe attempts to become the first decathlete to medal in three Olympiads?
Well, you could say he deserves center stage. At least nominally, he’s the World’s Greatest Athlete, right? It’s been 100 years since King Gustav of Sweden bestowed that on Jim Thorpe after he won the decathlon.
The title has stuck, even as the decathlon has declined in popularity and relevance. In reality, we only know Clay is the world’s greatest athlete who has chosen to do the decathlon. That’s not a knock; it takes courage even to attempt it, rare stamina to finish it. To excel requires an unimaginable array of strength, speed, skill and endurance, as well as good fortune. And there’s no doubt Clay could have excelled in a more high-profile sport (I keep thinking of him as an NFL cornerback).
Most Olympics viewers would rather watch Michael Phelps win eight gold medals in eight swimming events than see Bryan Clay win one gold medal for his effort in 10 track and field events. Or, at least, that’s what TV execs figured in 2008, when Clay won the decathlon gold.
Phelps won’t upstage Clay again, until London. That’s assuming Clay gets there. He is 32 now (considered old for a decathlete) and coming off injuries that kept him out of the world championships last year.
And this week he must contend with Trey Hardee and Ashton Eaton. Clay, Hardee and Eaton are the favorites to survive the trials, but the only certainty in the decathlon is uncertainty. There’s been some buzz about this group and the possibility of a medal sweep in London and reviving interest in the decathlon.
No one has medaled in the decathlon past age 30; that’s part of what keeps Clay going.
"One of the hardest things was finding motivation again," he said in a recent interview. "For so long I wanted to win the gold medal. Then I won. I had to figure out what was the new motivation to take myself to that place again."
They always said he was too small and now they say he’s too old.
Bryan Clay would love to prove them all wrong. Again.
If he gets to London and medals once more, he will be the greatest decathlete ever. It remains to be seen if America will care more about that or what Bruce Jenner’s stepdaughters are wearing that week.
