Ashton Eaton with his wife, Canadian heptathlete Brianne Theisen.
Ashton Eaton is upbeat he will have shaken off any post-Olympic cobwebs when he steps into the starting blocks of the World Championships' decathlon event today.
The multi-event discipline stars open the nine-day championships with 100 metres sprints at Luzhniki stadium to crown what many still say crown the “King of athletes”.
Eaton raised the world record to 9,039 points last year and then also won Olympic gold in London for his first major international title. The 25-year-old seeks more glory on the weekend, but also readily admits that he had trouble motivating himself for training after the spectacular 2012 season.
In addition, he got married to Canadian heptathlete Brianne Theisen Eaton last month, with the newly-weds strolling through a Moscow hotel in the final countdown to the Worlds where Theisen Eaton will be competing on Monday and Tuesday.
“Off the track I got married, so I’m very excited about that. On the track, I had a lot of PB’s earlier this year, so training was going awesome. Then I had a slight injury but we resolved that, so now I feel good. My preparation feels good,” Eaton said. “I think physically I actually feel a little more worn down. But this being my first year after an Olympic year, I think it does take a toll on your mind and your body. I would say I’m ready to go.”
The personal bests in the individual events suggest that Eaton has more world records within his reach if the conditions are right.
The outgoing athlete from Oregon got it all together at the US Olympic trials last year with the world record, and then also stormed to the Olympic gold with 8,869 points, the eighth-best tally in decathlon history.
Eaton is far below that mark in 2013, with 8,291 points making him only the 10th-best man of the year.
The list is led by German Pascal Behrenbruch with 8,514, and while showing a lot of respect for the rival, Eaton is upbeat that he can beat him in Moscow.
“I saw Pascal a week ago. If his mind is right, he is very talented. If he decides to not care and have fun he can do very well,” said Eaton, who has a degree in psychology.
Eaton fought his mental and physical battles in winter when he returned to training from a three-month hiatus after the Olympics. “I started training in November and I was like...(sighs)...just kind of going to practice. It kind of like took longer to get moving. It takes its toll on the body. I am usually pretty robust, nothing really bothers me too much. This year, little things have been here and there.”
The wedding, by contrast, was a big thing, and Eaton also sees the practical advantages of having tied the knot with “a perfect woman” who practices the same muti-event discipline.
“I am way more proud of her than I am myself, and she vice versa for me. It is cool to be in the same events, to be successful at the same time and be able to travel around the world together,” Eaton said.