![]() Beach in 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Curtis Lee Beach | |||||||||||||||||
Nationality | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Born | Albuquerque, New Mexico | July 22, 1990|||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) [1] | |||||||||||||||||
Weight | 166 lb (75 kg) [1] | |||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
Event | Decathlon | |||||||||||||||||
College team | Duke Blue Devils (2009–14) | |||||||||||||||||
Now coaching | PLNU Sea Lions (2025–) | |||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) | Decathlon: 8,084 (2011) Heptathlon: 6,190 (2014) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Curtis Lee Beach (born July 22, 1990) is a retired American decathlete and a two-time NCAA heptathlon champion who holds the world heptathlon best in the 1000 meters.
Beach was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the oldest son of Jeana King-Beach and David Beach. [3] From a young age, he showed athletic promise, joining a track club at eight and competing in his first decathlon at fourteen. [4] [5] [6] At Albuquerque Academy, he won 17 individual New Mexico state titles and set national high school records in the pentathlon and decathlon (with both high school and international implements). [7] [8] [9] [10] DyeStat declared him "the greatest US high school decathlete ever." [11]
Beach attended Duke University, where he became a two-time NCAA national champion in the indoor heptathlon, winning in 2012 and 2014. [12] [13] In 2011, he set a collegiate record in the decathlon 1500 meters, and then set back-to-back world records in the heptathlon 1000 meters in 2010 and 2012. [14] [15] [16] He also secured a second-place finish in the decathlon at the NCAA Championships in 2011. [17]
Beach underwent Tommy John surgery after graduating from Duke, [18] [19] then for the next three years competed professionally for Nike. [20] [21] In 2016, he won a U.S. indoor national championship and placed fourth at the World Indoor Championships. [22] [23] He also explored other events, including a focus on the 400 meters hurdles in 2017. [24]
Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
Event | Performance | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Long jump | 7.88 m (25 ft 10 in)(+0.0 m/s) | New York | June 14, 2013 |
200 meters | 21.57 (+1.8 m/s) | Claremont | June 3, 2017 |
800 meters | 1:47.36 | New York | July 6, 2017 |
400m hurdles | 49.83 | Claremont | June 3, 2017 |
Event | Performance | Location | Date | Score | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decathlon | — | Des Moines | June 9–10, 2011 | 8,084 points | — |
100 meters | 10.52 (+1.9 m/s) | Chula Vista | May 22, 2015 | 970 points | [25] |
Long jump | 7.85 m (25 ft 9 in)(+1.3 m/s) | Chula Vista | May 22, 2015 | 1,022 points | [25] |
Shot put | 12.64 m (41 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Chula Vista | May 22, 2015 | 645 points | [25] |
High jump | 2.05 m (6 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Eugene | June 25, 2009 | 850 points | [26] |
400 meters | 46.72 | Raleigh | April 19, 2013 | 972 points | [27] |
110m hurdles | 14.23 (+1.0 m/s) | Azusa | April 14, 2016 | 945 points | |
Discus throw | 39.44 m (129 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Eugene | June 23, 2012 | 653 points | [28] |
Pole vault | 5.10 m (16 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Austin | March 28, 2013 | 941 points | [29] |
Javelin throw | 48.42 m (158 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | Des Moines | June 10, 2011 | 565 points | [30] |
1500 meters | 3:59.13 | Des Moines | June 10, 2011 | 960 points | [31] |
Virtual Best Performance | 8,523 points | — |
Event | Performance | Location | Date | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
500 meters | 1:01.50 | New York | February 7, 2014 | [32] |
600 meters | 1:16.38 | Albuquerque | March 4, 2017 | [33] |
800 meters | 1:52.72 | New York | March 15, 2009 | [34] |
Event | Performance | Location | Date | Score | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heptathlon | — | Albuquerque | March 14–15, 2014 | 6,190 points | — |
60 meters | 7.01 | Crete | February 26, 2016 | 879 points | [23] |
Long jump | 7.67 m (25 ft 1+3⁄4 in) | Albuquerque | March 14, 2014 | 977 points | [35] |
Shot put | 13.12 m (43 ft 1⁄2 in) | Portland | March 18, 2016 | 675 points | [22] |
High jump | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) | Albuquerque | March 1, 2013 | 906 points | [36] |
60m hurdles | 8.07 | Crete | February 27, 2016 | 964 points | [23] |
Pole vault | 5.10 m (16 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Crete | February 27, 2016 | 941 points | [23] |
1000 meters | 2:23.63 | Nampa | March 10, 2012 | 1,064 points | [37] [a] |
Virtual Best Performance | 6,406 points | — |
Beach announced his retirement from the decathlon in April 2021. [38] He is currently an assistant coach for the women's track & field team at Point Loma Nazarene University, primarily working with vertical and horizontal jumps. [21]
Governor Bill Richardson declared July 1, 2009, to be "Curtis Lee Beach Day" in recognition of the day that Beach was named the 2009 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. [1] [39] [40] He received the Fair Play award for cheering on Ashton Eaton during the final leg of the decathlon 1500 meters at the 2012 US Olympic Trials. [41] [42] [43] In 2015, he was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. [44] [45]