Moscow: Ashton Eaton of the US added the world decathlon title to his Olympic crown in a dominant display at the World Athletics Championships on Sunday.
Eaton, who won silver in Daegu two years ago, finished the gruelling two-day 10-discipline event with 8,809 points.
Germany’s Michael Schrader took silver (8,670), with Damian Warner of Canada claiming bronze (8,512).
“I felt good today,” said Eaton, described by Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt after his Olympic win in London last year as the best athlete in the world.
“I won the gold — the only medal in decathlon that I didn’t have (at the worlds). Now I have everything. It was my goal, what I was putting in all that training for.”
But there will be no quick exit back to the US for Eaton, who recently got married to Canadian heptathlete Brianne Theisen.
“Tomorrow, I’ll be in the stands, watching my wife Brianne compete,” he said.
Eaton produced a solid second day of performances, overcoming a fright as he heavily clipped his second hurdle in the opening 110 metre hurdles before recovering to finish in a leading 13.72 seconds.
The American’s best of 45.00 metres in the discus saw him bank another 767 points for 6,280, as Schrader moved into second.
Eaton then cleared 5.20 metres in the pole vault and threw a best of 64.83 metres in the javelin before clocking 4min 29.80 seconds in the final 1500 metres.
In the first day of action on Saturday, Eaton started well, clocking a leading 10.35 seconds in the 100 metres, a third-best 7.73 metres in the the long jump, and 14.39 metres in the shot put.
But the world record holder dropped to fourth after a best in the high jump of 1.93 metres. Teammate Gunnar Nixon’s 2.14 metres saw him soar briefly into the lead, followed by Schrader.
Eaton duly retook the overnight lead with a 46.02 seconds in the 400 metres, leaving him on 4,502 points, just nine ahead of Nixon and Schrader, a further 66 points adrift.
Schrader said he felt lucky to have come through a raft of injuries. “Who would have thought that I would be able to execute my competition so well?” he said. Eaton’s teammate, reigning double world champion Trey Hardee, in fifth after three events, failed to register a height in the high jump for a disappointing end to his campaign.
