Clay Brings Gold Home

2008 Gold Medal-Winning Decathlete Bryan Clay Celebrates in Hawaii

AZUSA, CA (08/22/2008)(readMedia)-- Honolulu, Hawaii - Bryan Clay may be the world's greatest athlete with his gold-medal wining performance in Beijing Aug. 21-22, but his heart belongs to Hawaii. The Island son returns home Aug. 29 to celebrate the victory of Team Clay with family, friends, and the people of Hawaii. His three-day island homecoming kicks off with a press conference and autograph party at the Royal Grove at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center (http://www.royalhawaiiancenter.com/hawaii-visitor-info), Aug. 29, from 3-5 p.m. (HADT).

Hawaii highlights include:

  • Clay receives proclamations from the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.
  • Mayor Mufi Hanneman welcomes Hawaii's own Bryan Clay.
  • Clay addresses the crowd and takes questions from reporters.
  • Clay signs autographs on special Olympic cards for the general audience.

Members of the media are urged to attend. This event is also open to the public. For additional information, please contact Clay's manager, Stephen Bienko, at (201) 317-7989.

Beijing highlights:

In Azusa Pacific University's storied track & field history there have been world champions, Olympians, and unprecedented collegiate national championships. There have been medalists, both silver and bronze honorees. But there's never been an Olympic champion, a gold medalist.

Until now.

Bryan Clay, a 2003 Azusa Pacific University graduate, met all expectations to win the gold medal in track & field's decathlon during Friday's competition of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Clay fashioned an outstanding second-day effort to finish with 8,791 points and claim the title of not only the "world's greatest athlete," but more importantly "Olympic champion."

"This is the pinnacle," said Azusa Pacific track & field men's coach Kevin Reid by phone from Beijing. "For Bryan, this is just great. It was a dominating performance."

Clay never trailed and led wire-to-wire throughout the 10-event competition, taking the early lead by winning Thursday's opening event the 100-meters (10.44) and then expanding his cushion with strong performances in the long jump (25' 6¼"), shot put (53' 4½"), 110-meter high hurdles (13.93) and discus throw (175' 5"), all of which allowed him to post a pedestrian-like 5:06.59 in the 1500 meters, the 10th and final event.

"The Olympics are about winning, not necessarily big scores and records," said Reid, who also serves as Clay's lead coach. "We talked about the world and American records a little bit, but really it was about winning the gold medal. He can go for records in other meets."

For all intents and purposes, Clay, who finished among the top 3 in 7 of the 10 events and won 3 of them (100m, long jump, discus), secured the gold medal when he launched the discus 176' 5" (53.79m) during Friday's second-day competition. Not only was it the best throw among the decathletes, but it was also Clay's best toss since he set the decathlon discus world record at 183' 3" at the 2005 U.S. Championships in Carson, Calif.

At that point, Clay, who was operating on just four hours sleep from the night before, pushed his lead to 283 points over then second-place Oleksiy Kasyanov of the Ukraine, and he seemed invincible. All that was left to guarantee the gold was solid and safe performances. Yet, the competitive instincts in Clay would not allow him to play it safe. Instead he continued to attack the field, matching his season best in the pole vault at 16' 4¾" (5.00m) and then posting a season-best in the javelin at 232' 10" (70.97m).

Clay used just 2 of his allotted 3 throws in the javelin, widening the gap over Krauchanka to a whopping 479 points heading into the 1500m.

Gold in Beijing has been Clay's goal since he emerged on the world scene as a 23-year-old in 2003. And the progression was on pace until an injury-plagued 2007 campaign allowed doubts to creep in as to whether or not Clay would even make it to Beijing.

During his 4-year collegiate career (1999-2002) at Azusa Pacific University, Clay captured an NAIA-record 23 All-America honors and led the Cougars to a sweep of the 2002 NAIA indoor and outdoor track & field team titles. Within 2 years of concluding his college competition, Clay was an Olympic silver medalist, finishing second at the 2004 Athens Games with a then-personal-best score of 8,820 points (the second best score in U.S. history). The following year he was crowned world champion, winning the decathlon at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Now at the age of 28, he won his third U.S. championship by taking the Olympic Trials with another personal-best tally of 8,832.

Click here to view the final results of the 2008 Olympic decathlon.

APU online coverage: www.apu.edu/athletics/trackandfield/stories/12705/.

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About Azusa Pacific University

Featured in TIME magazine and ranked as one of the nation's best by U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review, Azusa Pacific is a comprehensive, Christian, evangelical university, committed to God First and known for excellence in higher education. Azusa Pacific's main campus lies just 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, while its seven Southern California regional centers bring convenience and extend quality programming. The university offers more than 60 areas of undergraduate study, 26 master's degree programs, and 7 doctorates to a total student population of more than 8,100. For more information, call (800) 825-5278 or visit www.apu.edu.

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