EUGENE, Ore. » There was a brief moment on Saturday when monsoon-like rain gave way to clear, sunny skies over Hayward Field. Not long after, Bryan Clay saw the faintest glimmer of hope break through his own dreary day.

The two-time Olympic decathlon medalist and Castle High product was emotionally and physically beaten down after his goal of making the London Games ended early on the second day of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at the corner of the University of Oregon campus.

First he was disqualified for smashing into the final barrier in the 110 hurdles, the day’s first event. Then he fouled on all three attempts in the discus, failing to earn a score. Shortly after that, his hurdle time of 16.81 seconds was reinstated following an appeal, but his no-score in the discus ensured him no chance of making the Olympic team.

Still, he trudged on and completed the decathlon, despite, as he put it, wanting to bury his head somewhere and go cry.

But just before Clay entered the media tent Saturday evening for his press conference, he was told there might be a chance for him to enter another decathlon this summer and still make the Olympic team, provided he reached the Olympic A standard of 8,200 points.

So Clay, torn up as he was over the day’s events, left Hayward Field with a sliver of hope that he could still, potentially, defend his 2008 Olympic gold medal.

"There’s a few decs this summer still, and there’s a very slim chance that if my body’s feeling OK and I can get out and get another one in, then I can maybe, possibly go chase the A standard and score 82 (hundred) and still maybe make the team," Clay said then, after finishing 12th with 7,092 points. "I don’t know, I’ve got to see how my body feels. I’m pretty beat up right now and I haven’t even talked to my coaches about that. I just found out about that."

USA Track and Field spokesperson Jill Geer later confirmed that Clay could not actually "chase" the standard and make the team, noting that "if he doesn’t have the standard by the time the (decathlon) Trials are over, he can’t go (to London)."

At issue, however, was the fact that only two decathletes qualified for London at the Trials — Ashton Eaton, whose 9,039 points in Eugene set a world record, and Trey Hardee, who was second with 8,383 points. Grey Horn, who finished third, scored 7,954 points, falling short of the A standard.

That leaves the U.S. contingent one short in the decathlon, after track and field analysts had widely predicted an American sweep in the event this summer, with Eaton, Hardee and Clay all expected to take the podium in London. A grass-roots effort began on Sunday after a fan of Clay’s created a Facebook page called "Let American Athletes chase the Olympic ‘A’ standard," which drew hundreds of supporters in its first 24 hours.

A friend of Clay’s also began petitioning USATF to alter its rule, encouraging fans on his own website to contact track and field’s governing body and urge its members to change their rules.

On Tuesday, however, Clay himself put an end to all the campaigning, issuing a statement through USATF and posting on his own Facebook page that he did not intend to challenge any rulings.

"On one hand, my love of the sport impels me to defend my title. I would give almost anything to compete at the Olympics in London," Clay wrote. "On the other hand, my love of the sport compels me to preserve its integrity. For this reason, and though it pains me, I believe that the USATF Committee’s decision to take only two decathletes to London is the right one.

"Ultimately, it is in the best interest of the sport to keep the integrity of the rules in place, and to support and uphold the decisions of the USATF Committee."

Clay went on to write that he’ll be in London "as a supporter of the USOC, as an ambassador to my sponsors, and as a spectator.

"Let me assure you that I intend to be the loudest and most fervent supporter of both Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee. I expect a Gold and Silver medal, and perhaps another World Record."

Clay then reiterated comments he’d made on Saturday evening at the Trials, when he said he wasn’t considering retirement and hinted that he was aiming to compete in next year’s world championships.

"I don’t think we’ll end it here," he said in Eugene. "There’s always another team to be made."

For Clay, this summer’s U.S. Olympic team won’t be one of them.