Decathlon 2000 › News › Clay’s Weak 1500 Causes Serious Concerns to the Sport
 1 votes

Clay’s Weak 1500 Causes Serious Concerns to the Sport (2)

Phil Vassallo
May 30, 2006

Bryan Clay

A look at Bryan Clay's last six decathlons, covering the 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons, reveals 1500-meter decathlon performances that have been mostly weak to the point of embarrassment to himself and to the sport. With the exception of Athens, his 1500-meter times have been extraordinarily poor. In Athens, he ran a respectable 4:41.65, for 670 points, which is still 7 seconds slower than his personal best. Let’s assume that he performed just as well in all his decathlons since Sacramento in 2004. The comparative results appear in the table below.

Bryan Clay's 1500-meter performance in major decathlons, 2000 - 2006: comparison between actual time and 4:41.65

Actual Performance

If 4:41.65 (670 Points)

Date Site Event Time Points Score Place Score Place
17/07/04 Sacramento US Champ 5:06.18 525 8660 1 8805 1
08/24/04 Athens Olympics 4:41.65 670 8820 2 8820 2
26/09/04 Talence Decastar 5:01.54 551 8122 2 8241 1
29/05/05 Götzis Hypobank 5:22.82 435 7961 9 8196 5
24/06/05 Carson US Champ 4:57.11 576 8506 1 8600 1
10/08/05 Helsinki World Champ 5:03.77 538 8732 1 8864 1
28/05/06 Götzis Hypobank 5:13.47 485 8677 1 8862 1

The difference in Clay’s running a decent 1500 meters yields stunning consequences:
1) His top ten decathlons would total 85325, 10th on the all-time list, instead of 84623, 18th on the all-time list.
2) He would have 4 of the top 25 decathlons ever, instead of only 1.
3) He would have won Talence in 2004, edging Roman Sebrle’s 8217 tally by 24 points.
4) He would have won the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge with 25660 points to Roman Sebrle’s 25381, instead of taking 2nd place with 25199 points.

Clay’s glaring performance weakness causes three major problems to his legacy:
1) It cancels out Clay’s amazing improvements over the past three years in the throwing events.
2) It prevents him from achieving the consistency necessary for greatness.
3) It trivializes the spirit of the decathlon by reducing the final event to a feeble jog by an otherwise great decathlete, clocking a time that even sub-mediocre 14-year-old middle-distance runners could surpass.

To see a standard of remarkable consistency, notice that Sebrle has completed 53 of 56 decathlons that he has competed in throughout his 16-year career, and only one has exceeded the five-minute mark.

What is Clay saying to fans who spend a lot of money and time to see him end his two-day challenge in a whimper — often in dead-last place? Clay has no chance of breaking Sebrle’s world record of 9026 or even Dan O’Brien’s American record of 8891 points, for that matter — if he continues to surrender the decathlon in the final event. In fact, he doesn’t belong competing or deserve the title "world’s greatest athlete" if he reduces the decathlon to an anticlimactic stroll on the track.

Story: Philip Vassallo, Ed.D.
Photo: Tommy Sarenbrant (www.tiokamp.nu)

Comments (2)

B.J. Parish wrote on May 01, 2011
wow i can't believe i never made a remark on this article before, actually i can't believe i even read it again.

1)how many times has sebrle ran under 10.60 in the 100?

2) how many times has sebrle thrown over 50 in the discus?

3) if clay is so far ahead especially in championship events he can run what he wants unless he feels like he is in striking distance of the american or world record.

I really respect a lot of your opinions Phil but I cant believe the name if this article is "Clay's weak 1500 hurts sport"
Notify us, if you think this comment is inappropriate
IP: 70.92.2...
3200guy wrote on June 13, 2012
Clay's 1500 pr is actually 4:38.93 not 7 seconds faster than 4:41.65. As someone who likes seeing guys like Curtis Beach and Joe Detmer do well in the decathlon, I still admire Clay for how good he's been at most of the other events. I agree with B. J. in that when Clay has a comfortable lead going in to the 1500, it makes sense for him to run the 1500 at a more conservative pace so as not to risk "blowing up" and losing a nearly gift-wrapped title.

For what it's worth, though Clay isn't at the level, overall in the decathlon, he was in 2008, I read an article a few months ago that said he thinks he can pr in the 1500 and 400 this summer.
Notify us, if you think this comment is inappropriate
IP: 98.181....

Please log in to add your comment!

Read more
Bryan Clay: World's Greatest Athlete?
If Honolulu's Bryan Clay had all his personal-best marks in the same meet, he would break the world decathlon scoring record.
Bryan Clay
Diverted off the troubled path of his childhood, Bryan Clay went on to become one of the most decorated decathletes of all time. He won an Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games (2008) and became decathlon World champion in Helsinki 2005.