Decathlon: Ashton Eaton vs. Trey Hardee. This heavyweight bout between two incredible decathletes should be a major highlight of these championships. As occasionally happens when two great athletes are in their prime in the same event [e.g. Coe vs. Ovett; Lewis vs. Conley; Yang vs. Johnson;], defending world champion Hardee and Olympic champion and WR holder Eaton push each other to new heights of performance. Hardee is a proud athlete who wants desperately to repeat as world champion. The Olympic champion – who scored 8291 points to capture the national deca crown while recovering from a slight knee strain – might be vulnerable if not fully healed. Eaton – who holds the world decathlon record in the first two decathlon events [the 100m and the LJ] – is an accomplished Day One performer. And he’ll need that big first day in Russia, as 10 decathletes have posted 10-event scores this year which are superior to the Olympic champion’s Des Moines total. But if Eaton’s recently-improved throws performances sag, any early lead he might be able to forge could slip away faster than Bob Kraft’s Super Bowl ring
