Ashton Eaton (2020) - Hall of Fame - University of Oregon Athletics

Ashton Eaton

Induction:
2020
Class:
2010

Twice earning the moniker “World’s Greatest Athlete” for his pair of Olympic gold medals in the decathlon, Ashton Eaton was a five-time NCAA champion and a five-time Pac-10 champion for Oregon. He was named the 2010 Bowerman Award winner, an honor bestowed to the best collegiate track and field athlete in the nation. He also won that year’s Thorpe Award. Upon winning the decathlon as a senior at the 2010 NCAA meet, Eaton became the first person in ever to win three consecutive NCAA decathlon titles. He finished his career with a remarkable run of five consecutive NCAA wins in the combined events: 2008 decathlon, 2009 heptathlon, 2009 decathlon, 2010 heptathlon and 2010 decathlon. After helping Oregon win its first-ever NCAA Men’s Indoor Track and Field title by taking first in the heptathlon as a junior in 2009, the pinnacle of collegiate achievements may have come at the 2010 NCAA indoor meet where, as a collegian, he broke the world record in the heptathlon, scoring 6,499 points to eclipse Dan O'Brien's 1993 mark by 25 points. Eaton was named USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year four times (twice outdoor and twice indoor) and was a two-time winner of the Pac-10 Field Athlete of the Year award. His performance at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships was one for the ages. Eaton won his third straight decathlon with a score of 8,154 points. He also won the 110 meter hurdles in 13.54, the long jump (25-7.5), took second in the 100 meters (10.33) and ran the second leg on the Ducks' fourth-place 4x100 meter relay team (40.36). In total, he accounted for 39.25 points toward Oregon's winning score of 168.5. The eight-time all-American still holds the NCAA meet, Pac-12 and school records in the decathlon with his 8,457 points scored at the 2010 national championships. In addition to his all-America honors in the combined events, Eaton also earned all-America status as a member of Oregon’s indoor 4x400 meter relay teams of 2008 and 2010. After college, the Bend, Ore., native set the world record in the decathlon by scoring 9,039 points at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials at historic Hayward Field. He won Olympic gold in the decathlon at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was also the IAAF world champion in the decathlon in 2013 and 2015 and the U.S. decathlon champion in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. He extended his world record to 9,045 points at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. Indoors, Eaton won four world championships in the heptathlon, including the 2012 meet where he broke his own world record by scoring 6,645 points.