LONDON — Ashton Eaton started off the decathlon with an Olympic-best performance in the 100 meters and kept up the momentum, jumping to a big lead after the first day.
The American was 220 points ahead of countryman Trey Hardee through five events Wednesday.
Eaton began the morning by breaking Bill Toomey’s 44-year-old record in the 100-meter dash. He ended it with a solid performance in the 400. In between, Eaton finished first in the long jump, 11th in the shot put and second in the high jump.
The 24-year-old from Oregon has the spotlight on him after breaking the world record at the U.S. trials in June when he finished with 9,039 points. His mark eclipsed Roman Sebrle’s 11-year-old record by 13 points.
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