Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Nationality | United States | ||||||||||||||
Born | Albuquerque, New Mexico | July 22, 1990||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||||||||||||||
Weight | 165 lb (75 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
College team | Duke Blue Devils | ||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) | Decathlon: 8,084 (International implements) 7,909 (High school implements) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Curtis Beach (born July 22, 1990) is an American decathlete who competed for Duke University. He formerly held high school records in the decathlon using three different implement standards: high school (7,909 points), international junior (7,599 points) and international senior (7,466 points). [1] His performances in the high jump, 400 meters, and 1500 meters were superior to those of U.S. Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay in the 2008 Olympic Games. [2] At the 2011 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, as a freshman, Beach finished second overall in the decathlon. [3] His 3:59.13 finish in the 1500 meters shattered the previous collegiate record and is the second-fastest 1500 meter in world history for a decathlon, just missing Robert Baker's mark from 1980. [4]
In total, Beach won 17 individual New Mexico state titles in track and field events during his high school career at Albuquerque Academy. [5]
At the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in New York, in March 2009, Beach reached 4,127 points in the pentathlon, winning the championship and ranking #2 on the all-time list, trailing Donovan Kilmartin (4,303 points). [6]
At the 42nd Arcadia Invitational, in April 2009, Beach had a points total of 7,909 (with high school implements) in the decathlon to crush Ryan Thierault's record of 7,417. [7] [8]
At the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, in June 2009, Beach broke the high school record for decathlon with international implements (set by Craig Brigham in 1972) with 7,466 to Brigham's 7,359. Dyestat noted that "[Beach] ends all doubt—he is the greatest US high school decathlete ever." [9]
At the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships, Beach finished in 12th place in the heptathlon with a score of 5,533 points. Beach's 1000 m time of 2:27.88 was a world heptathlon best. [10] At the 2011 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, as a freshman, Beach finished second overall in the decathlon. [3] His 3:59.13 finish in the 1500 meters shattered the previous collegiate record and is the second-fastest 1500 meters in world history for a decathlon, just missing Robert Baker's mark from 1980. [4]
Beach took first at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with 6,138 points and breaking his own previous world record in the heptathlon 1000m at 2:23.63 [11]
At the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics, Beach placed 4th in the octathlon. [12]
At the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Beach won the decathlon (against both high school athletes and college freshman) setting the junior, under age 20 record (with junior implements) accumulating 7,599 points. [13] He capped this victory off by winning the 1500 meters in 4:07.85 during windy conditions, a time that would have beaten the US senior 1500 meters decathlon winner by almost 15 seconds.
At the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, Beach won the decathlon with a points total of 7,377. [14]
At the 2012 US Olympic Trials, Beach demonstrated commendable sportsmanship by slowing down and giving way to new decathlon world record holder Ashton Eaton in the final event, the 1500m. [15] [16]
Beach won the 2008-09 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award. As a result, the Governor of New Mexico declared July 1, 2009 "Curtis Beach Day," in New Mexico. [17]
Beach was featured in Sports Illustrated in the Faces in the Crowd section. [5]
Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
Event | Performance | Location | Date | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
Decathlon | 8,732 points | Des Moines | June 10, 2011 | 8,084 points |
100 meters | 10.52 (+1.9 m/s) | Chula Vista | May 22, 2015 | 970 points |
Long jump | 7.88 m (25 ft 10 in) | New York | June 14, 2013 | 1,030 points |
Shot put | 13.12 m (43 ft 1⁄2 in) | Portland | March 18, 2016 | 675 points |
High jump | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) | Albuquerque | March 18, 2016 | 906 points |
400 meters | 46.72 | Raleigh | April 19, 2013 | 972 points |
110 meters 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 |
Pole vault | 5.10 m (16 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Austin | March 28, 2013 | 941 points |
Javelin throw | 48.42 m (158 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | Des Moines | June 10, 2011 | 565 points |
1500 meters | 3:59.13 | Des Moines | June 10, 2011 | 960 points |
Virtual Best Performance | 8,617 points |
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα and ἄθλος. Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved. The decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes typically compete in the heptathlon.
Bryan Ezra Tsumoru Clay is an American decathlete who was the 2008 Summer Olympic champion for the decathlon and was also World champion in 2005.
Andrei Sergeyevich Krauchanka is a Belarusian decathlete. He was the silver medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His personal best score of 8617 points is the Belarusian record for the event. He also holds the national indoor record in the heptathlon with 6282 points.
Sheldon Blockburger is a retired male decathlete from the United States, who competed in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. He won the SEC Decathlon Championship in 1986 and won the 1987 SEC indoor pentathlon title with a world record score of 4451. He set his personal best in the men's decathlon event on June 13, 1990, at the US National Championships in Norwalk, California. He won the bronze medal at the 1991 Pan American Games. He was also the first ever American champion in the indoor heptathlon in 1995. In 1993, he became the first American to win the Italian Multi Stars decathlon, scoring 8296. In 1994, he became the first American to break 8000 points in the prestigious Hypo Bank meeting in Gotzis, Austria. Blockburger began his college coaching career in 1996 at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo and coached three NCAA track and field champions. He left Cal Poly in 2005 for another coaching position at the university of Arizona. While at Arizona Blockburger coached 11 NCAA champions and had 5 runner up finishes. He left for USC in 2015, where he had two NCAA high jump champions and was a part of the 2018 Women's team NCAA Championship. He returned to the University of Arizona in 2018 and left after the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Blockburger coached athletes at the 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 IAAF Track and Field World Championships with high jumper Brigetta Barrett winning the silver medal at 2.00m. He coached in the 2004 and 2012 Olympics with Brigetta Barrett winning the silver medal with an NCAA record jump of 2.03m (6-8”). Blockburger is married to Cynthia. They have twins born in 2002, Johnnie and Alyssa, both of whom are track and field athletes at the University of Southern California.
Ashton James Eaton is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete to break the 9,000-point barrier in the decathlon, with 9,039 points, a score he bettered on August 29, 2015, when he beat his own world record with a score of 9,045 points, and remains the only person to exceed 9000 points twice. His world record was broken by Frenchman Kevin Mayer on September 16, 2018, with a total of 9,126 points, who became the third man to pass the 9,000-point barrier.
James Edward "Trey" Hardee III is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in the combined events. He is a former NCAA Champion, a two-time World Outdoor Champion, a member of the United States 2008 Olympic team, and the silver medalist in the decathlon at the London 2012 Olympics. He was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Robert Jacob "Jake" Arnold is a decathlete from the United States. He represented the United States in the decathlon at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships ranking 13th and 24th respectively. He became the first athlete to win back-to-back NCAA decathlon titles in over twenty years after winning the event in both 2006 and 2007.
Sten Anders Ekberg is a former decathlon athlete who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics for Sweden and was a Swedish decathlete National Record holder. Sten Ekberg won the Swedish Championship in both decathlon and heptathlon. Ekberg currently resides in the United States where he works as a chiropractor at his office Wellness For Life in Cumming, Georgia.
Brianne Theisen-Eaton is a retired Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon and women's pentathlon. She won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Theisen-Eaton holds the Canadian record for the heptathlon with 6,808 points, as well as the indoor pentathlon with a score of 4768 points. Theisen-Eaton is a heptathlon silver medallist from the 2013 World Championships and 2015 World Championships, as well as a pentathlon silver medalist from the 2014 World Indoor Championships. She is the first and only Canadian woman to podium in the multi-events at the World Championships. Theisen-Eaton won Commonwealth Games gold in the heptathlon at Glasgow 2014 and was the 2016 World Indoor Champion in the pentathlon. She also won a bronze medal as part of the women's 4 x 400 m relay at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
Sharon Day-Monroe is an American heptathlete, pentathlete and high jumper. She is the 2011, 2013, and 2014 national heptathlon champion.
Chantae McMillan is an American heptathlete who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
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David Klech is an American decathlete. He attended the University of Oregon, after transferring from the University of California, Los Angeles.
James Gunnar Nixon is an American track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He broke the American high school record for the event in 2011, and was the World Junior Champion in 2012. He won his first national title indoors in 2013, and was runner-up at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His personal record for the decathlon is 8313 points at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
Jon "Ryan" Harlan is an American decathlete, who also coaches at the Awty International School.
Aaron James Booth is a New Zealand decathlete who won the gold medal in that event at the 2019 Summer Universiade.
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