For decathletes, our event goes all throughout the day so you're trying to go up and down and up and down emotionally and physically and you know mentally you're just on a roller coaster.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a juggler; you have ten balls and you're trying to get them all in the air at the same time.
Even though decathlon is really long, there's always something different to look forward to, which is great for mental stimulation.
From the time I started the decathlon, I've loved the event. I didn't know why. I still don't know why.
I'm like a decathlete who does all of the events he's used to, but is being forced by certain circumstances to focus on three events, and being forced to focus on events that he wasn't that interested in, and also weren't his strongest events.
And there is such a thing as a decathlon high. It's like a rock rolling down hill, picking up momentum. You get better and better.
To be with the other two-time gold medalists is great, but it's great to just be a decathlete.
Most people doing the decathlon these days are quite boring, so people don't relate to them.
If I really felt like I was the world's greatest athlete, I'd get 10 great events. But I know that's pretty much not possible. That's the toughness of the decathlon.
We have to lie to ourselves as decathletes and say that we like all ten events.
As a decathlete, you take pride in saying, 'The elements, I'm not going to let them affect me. It's just the 11th event. Another thing you have to fight through.'