Twenty years has now passed since the first edition of the Thorpe Cup, but Harry Marra still points to the inaugural meet against Germany in 1993 as his favorite. Frank Zarnowski, who has witnessed all but two Thorpe Cup meets, will always remember a Team USA victory in 1999 by the absolute slimmest of margins as the best he has seen. The idea started in the stands at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games in a conversation between U.S. decathlon team coach Marra and German coach Claus Marek – a head-to-head men’s decathlon competition between Germany and the United States. From that point, it has grown into the most significant nation vs. nation team decathlon competition in the world. The Thorpe Cup will celebrate its 20th year at Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., when competition gets underway Saturday and concludes Sunday with men’s Team Decathlon and women’s Team Heptathlon competition. A live webcast will be offered on www.usatf.tv Previously known as the Visa Cup meet or the Jeep Challenge, the event came to be called the Thorpe Cup in 2007 in honor of 1912 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Jim Thorpe. Marra served as a coach when the meet was launched in 1993 in Aachen, Germany.
Members of Team USA for the Team Decathlon include:
Austin Bahner (Wichita, Kan.) – Bahner placed 7th at the 2013 USA Outdoor Championships and finished runner-up in the decathlon in the Missouri Valley Conference. He holds a personal best of 7,847. Wesley Bray (Cypress, Texas) – Bray finished fifth at the 2013 USA Outdoor Championships and holds a personal best of 7,932, which he recorded when he placed third at the Texas Relays in 2012. Dan Gooris (Albuquerque, N.M.) – Gooris won the Drake Relays decathlon and his fourth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference title in 2013 competing for Northern Iowa. He holds a personal best of 7,780. Ryan Harlan (Hewitt, Texas) – Four times in his career Harlan has eclipsed the 8,000-point barrier. A 2011 member of Team USA for the World Outdoor Championships, Harlan is also the 2011 USA Outdoor runner-up in the event and has won a pair of NACAC titles in the decathlon. Gray Horn (Wapakoneta, Ohio) – Horn placed third at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and holds a personal best of 7,954. He is also a two-time SEC Outdoor champion. Dakotah Keys (Sweet Home, Ore.) – Keys holds a personal best of 8,001, which he scored in May to win his second consecutive PAC-12 Outdoor title in the decathlon and became the 69th American to score over 8,000 points. Isaac Murphy (Fort Hood, Texas) – Recorded his personal best of 8,086 to place fourth in June at the NCAA Outdoor Championships competing for Texas. Has twice in his career surpassed 8,000 points. more
