A couple of years ago, many of us here marveled at the speed and athleticism of collegiate decathlete Trey Hardee. In 2006, he set the collegiate record for the decathlon with 8465 at the Texas Relays and then went on to win the national championship. During that season, he was running faster in the decathlon 100m than the white collegiate 100m sprinters. Then all of the sudden he disappeared from the scene. I did a little digging and found out that he was injured and had surgery in 2007. He seems to be on track for a run at Olympic Decathlon Gold. Here's to one of the greatest white athletes on the planet.
Trey Hardee at the 2008 Texas Relays
Hardee returns with 8371 point tally in Austin - Texas Relays days 1 and 2
Austin, Texas, USA - Trey Hardee, who set an American collegiate Decathlon record of 8465 here at the Texas Relays two years ago and then spent all of 2007 injured, returned to the scene on Thursday (3 Apr) with a performance that in many ways was even more remarkable.
With only six weeks of serious training behind him, the 1.96m, 95kg Hardee racked up 8371 points, an early season world leader, and put himself back into the U.S Olympic picture.
Hardee, 24, came into the second day with 4212 points, chiefly thanks to a 10.40 (1.8) 100m and a 47.76 400.
"I was sort of feeling my way the first day," he said later, adding, "This is my Pre-Olympics Olympics," explaining that he needed to get a qualifying score for the U.S. Olympic Trials set for 29-30 June.
He opened his second day with a modest 13.99 (3.3) 110m hurdles, then hit PBs in the Discus Throw (52.76m) and Pole Vault (5.25m), before taking a single Javelin Throw of 58.96m and finishing with a 5:02.18 in the 1500m.
Behind him were Chilean Gonzalo Barroilhet, with a national record tally of 7828, Americans Brandon Hoskins (7800) and Rickey Moody (7787) and Camille Vandendriessche of France with 7559.
Hardee's year off in 2007 included surgery on his right wrist; recovery which he describes as "A lot of stuff that kind of culminated in one big trauma to my hip and groin," and a long period of rehabilitation.
Trey Hardee at the 2008 Texas Relays
Hardee returns with 8371 point tally in Austin - Texas Relays days 1 and 2
Austin, Texas, USA - Trey Hardee, who set an American collegiate Decathlon record of 8465 here at the Texas Relays two years ago and then spent all of 2007 injured, returned to the scene on Thursday (3 Apr) with a performance that in many ways was even more remarkable.
With only six weeks of serious training behind him, the 1.96m, 95kg Hardee racked up 8371 points, an early season world leader, and put himself back into the U.S Olympic picture.
Hardee, 24, came into the second day with 4212 points, chiefly thanks to a 10.40 (1.8) 100m and a 47.76 400.
"I was sort of feeling my way the first day," he said later, adding, "This is my Pre-Olympics Olympics," explaining that he needed to get a qualifying score for the U.S. Olympic Trials set for 29-30 June.
He opened his second day with a modest 13.99 (3.3) 110m hurdles, then hit PBs in the Discus Throw (52.76m) and Pole Vault (5.25m), before taking a single Javelin Throw of 58.96m and finishing with a 5:02.18 in the 1500m.
Behind him were Chilean Gonzalo Barroilhet, with a national record tally of 7828, Americans Brandon Hoskins (7800) and Rickey Moody (7787) and Camille Vandendriessche of France with 7559.
Hardee's year off in 2007 included surgery on his right wrist; recovery which he describes as "A lot of stuff that kind of culminated in one big trauma to my hip and groin," and a long period of rehabilitation.