Paul Terek of the USA in the long jump of the decathlon (© Getty Images)
Americans are likely to dominate the men’s Decathlon at the inaugural North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NACAC) Combined Events Championships, this Memorial Day weekend (28-29 May) at the Sixto Escobar Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Nine of the 32 NACAC member territories are entered in the two-day contest to decide the NACAC Combined Events Champions. The meet is part of the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge, and this first edition is being presented by the Puerto Rican Athletics Federation.
Click here for a previous news story about these championships
MEN – Decathlon
Americans favoured
Among the men, there are two Olympians, including favourite Paul Terek of the USA. The 25-year-old Californian is a two-time national indoor Heptathlon champion in the United States. His best result in the Decathlon is 8312 points, which he accomplished whilst finishing third at the 2004 US Olympic Trials.
In the absence of Brian (USA) Clay and Jamaica’s Claston Bernard, the stiffest challenge is likely to come from another American, 2004 NCAA Decathlon Champion, Ryan Harlan. The 2005 Heptathlon indoor champion comes into this weekend’s competition intending to improve on his Decathlon best of 8171 from last year’s NCAA meet.
Currently 10 and 19 for the event in the latest IAAF World Rankings, Terek and Harlan are two of three men in the top-50 down to compete in San Juan this weekend. A third American, Cris Boyles (7827) ought to make an impact. But in order to do so he will have to hold off an Olympian and NCAA Champion.
Smith leads the rest
Maurice Smith, a 24-year-old Jamaican, is set to build on his triumph at this year’s NCAA Indoor Combined Events Championships, when he was competing for Auburn University. But Smith he will fly his country’s flag this weekend, seeking to better the 8024 points that won him the Decathlon at the 2004 Texas Relays.
Octavious Gillespie, a UCLA graduate and Guatemala’s Decathlon record holder, will try to improve on the 7448 he recorded last year at the Multi-Carnival in Chula Vista. Gillespie’s best result in international competition to date has been a fourth-placed finish (7430) at last year’s Iberoamerican Championships.
Canada will be represented this weekend by Jamie Adjetey-Nelson. The 21-year-old from Windsor, ON was a 2004 NACAC U-23 bronze medallist in front of his home crowd at Sherbrooke, Quebec. He achieved his personal record of 7181 at the 2004 Canadian Olympic Trials in Victoria.
James Holder, a 28-year-old from Calgary, is the other Decathlon competitor from Canada. His best mark of 7164 is unlikely to trouble the top rated athletes, Less troubling still will be the improving Andres Mantilla (6861), Colombia’s 2004 South American U-23 bronze medallist.
Puerto Ricans improving
Nobody will benefit more than Puerto Rican athletes from the newest event on the NACAC calendar. La Isla Encantada will be the venue for the meet through 2007, with NACAC President Amadeo Francis, an IAAF Vice President, serving as Games co-Chairman in the first instance.
Borinqueños, as Puerto Ricans often refer to themselves, will more than likely reserve their loudest cheers for 2005 Penn Relays decathlon champion Steven Marrero. A student at Turabo University in Puerto Rico, it took Marrero to record his personal best 7047 to win in Philadelphia.
The other Puerto Ricans to look out for will be Marcos Sánchez and Jose Román. The men’s Decathlon field will be completed by three athletes who are yet to crack the 7000-point barrier, in Canada’s Jay Atcheson (6673), Venezuela’s Freddy Diaz (6723) and Mexico’s Juan Pedro Santa Rosa (6788).
WOMEN - Heptathlon
Close contest
Amongst the women, British-born Fiona Asigbee currently has the best mark of any American woman for the 2005 season. The 24-year-old University of Missouri graduate scored her personal best mark of 5773 points to win the Audrey Walton Combined Events in mid-April in Columbia.
Jackie Poulson, another American, also established a new personal record this year, with a mark of 5730. Asigbee (IAAF World Ranked 43) and the 24-year-old Poulson (49) are the only athletes in the World Rankings entered for this weekend. Poulson is an Idaho State graduate.
Also included in the field is Tracey Lawyer-Thomas, who placed eighth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2004. Lawyer-Thomas, 28 years old, has a personal record of 5772. With such close totals, it’s going to be far too close to call between the three Americans, but one will surely win this weekend.
Next tier still developing
The next best group of athletes entered for the NACAC meet is just above the 5000 range. Just 20 years old, Jamaica’s Nadina Marsh was the Central American and Caribbean junior Heptathlon champion last year. Since then, she’s improved to 5282, and she surely aims to get even better this weekend.
Colombia’s 2004 national champion, Nasly Perea checks in with an all-time best mark of 5129. Puerto Rico is much stronger among the women than the men, with 20-year-old converted javelin thrower Coralys Ortiz turning in a mark of 5046 earlier this year to finish second at the Penn Relays.
Canada’s Veronique Fortín (4987), Puerto Rico’s Yalitza Rivera (4887), the Colombian duo of Flor Robledo (4880) and Diana Ibarguen (4851) and Dominican Republic’s Juana Castillo (4800) will all be seeking to reach the 5000 mark, along with Mexicans Kytzzia V. Vásquez Mereció (4793) and Mariana Abuela (4672), Jamaica’s Ann Kay Campbell (4637) and Puerto Rico’s Nahomy Rivera.
History in the making
Aside from the historic honour of becoming the first NACAC Heptathlon or Decathlon champion, athletes will be vying for monetary awards this weekend. The top eight finishers in each event will be awarded amounts between US$150 for eighth and US$1000 for first, along with bonuses for high point totals.
Sixto Escobar Stadium, venue for the 2005 NACAC Combined Events Championships, has staged several major events. The 1979 Panamerican Games and 1997 CAC championships were held here, among others. The stadium is located on the shores of beautiful San Juan, close to the Old San Juan historical district.
