Dan O'Brien Officially Retires

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Dan O'Brien Officially Retires

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Fri Jul 09, 2004 7:02 pm

http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2 ... ports1.txt

O'Brien says his decathlon career over

Thursday, July 8, 2004 3:14 PM PDT


Dan O'Brien clears a hurdle during his hey-day as the world's premier decathlete. O'Brien said Wednesday he is retiring from the two-day, 10-event competition.



Published July 8, 2004

By STEVE MATTHIES

H&N Sports Writer

Dan O'Brien's bid for one last run to glory has come to an end.

The 1984 Henley High School graduate has officially retired from the de-cathlon, a two-day, 10-event competition in which he won more world championships than anyone in history, as well as the 1996 Olympic gold medal in Atlanta.

Before he set his world record, O'Brien had been the favorite to win the 1992 Barcelona Olympics decathlon, but no-heighted in the pole vault at the trials and failed to make the United States team that competed in Spain.



Two months after the 1992 trials, O'Brien scored 8,891 points in Talence, France, which is still the second highest decathlon total in history.

"I always thought I could accomplish something with time and preparation," O'Brien said Wednesday from Phoenix, Ariz.

O'Brien, 37, is preparing to leave for the U.S. Track and Field Olympic trials, which begin Friday in Sacramento.

"In May, I suffered a lower abdominal strain and had to take a month off," he said. "Once I started training again, it still bothered me. It still hurts and I can't run at full speed.

"I gave it a good shot."

He said doctors told him he had osteitis pubis synthesis, which he said is a condition where an inflamed pubic bone has eroded over time from intense activity.

"It's horribly painful," he said.

O'Brien has not ruled out some competition in single track and field events.

"Who knows?" he said. "I think I could have managed a single event this year, so I'm not counting anything else. I'm as fit as ever, but this is disappointing.

"I wanted to go one more time."

O'Brien said there is no greater stage on which to perform than the Olympic Games.

"From a personal standpoint, I haven't been able to prepare like I would like to," he said.

O'Brien made his decision to retire from the decathlon with the help of his coach, Rick Sloan.

He had hoped to possibly get to Klamath Falls this weekend for his 20th high school reunion, but said the U.S. trials and a variety of personal appearances already had been scheduled.

"It's a bummer. There are some people I haven't seen in a long time that I would like to," O'Brien said.

O'Brien said he likely won't get back to Klamath Falls until sometime this fall.

"I've had a great track and field career," he said.

O'Brien was Oregon's first four-time state individual track and field champion in 1984 (110-high hurdles, 100 dash, 300 intermediate hurdles, long jump), a feat that has been accomplished only two times since.

"I want to thank the city of Klamath Falls for its support. I don't think any athlete could have had more support from a city and its people," O'Brien said.

"People think I'm from Idaho, but I know where I'm from, where my hometown is."

The only decathlete to win six major world decathlons (three world championships and two Goodwill Games, along with the Olympic gold medal), O'Brien still will be a presence when this summer's Games are held in Athens, Greece.

"I have had offers to do television," he said.

O'Brien will work with NBC on its coverage of the 2004 Olympics, particularly on its high-definition television broadcasts.

"The next stage of my career is on TV," he said.

O'Brien and his wife, Leilani, also will be in Athens as guests of Sports Illustrated doing a variety of personal and promotional appearances from Aug. 13 to 29.

"I might do some stuff before Athens, too," he said.

Once home, O'Brien would begin work on one of his lifetime goals: "Trying to get people thinking more about health and fitness, especially with young people," he said.

O'BRIEN FILES - O'Brien won his first world-class decathlon at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, and defended his title with a 1994 win in St. Petersburg, Russia ... he won world championships in 1991, 1993 and 1995 ... the world record for decathlon points is 8,902 by Thomas Dvorak from the Czech Republic ... when O'Brien set his world record, he bettered the previous mark set by two-time Olympic gold medal winners Daley Thompson of Great Britain at 8,847 at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games ... in 1991, O'Brien was named one of the top five male track and field stars in the world, along with Sergey Bubka, Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and Mike Powell ... O'Brien also had won the 110-meter high hurdles as a junior.

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