Northwest athletes had another good day at the Olympic Track and Field trials in Eugene. University of Oregon graduates had success running in front of a home crowd at Hayward Field.
Ashton Eaton was the star, Sunday. The Olympic gold-medalist won the decathlon with a score of 8750. He was asked to compare this win with the 2012 Olympic Trials, when he set a world record. He says he’s older and more confident.
“If I’m in a situation in a decathlon, I’ll have confidence that I’ll be able to handle it because I’ve been in a lot of them. I was just a little more confident in this one. Like if something went bad, you know, like throwing 13 meters in a shot-put, that I’d be able to handle it.”
Jeremy Taiwo of Seattle also made the Olympic decathlon team
Other U of O graduates heading to Rio:
English Gardner, who won the women’s 100 meter race. In the 400 meter, Phyllis Francis got the second spot on the team behind veteran sprinter Allyson Felix.