Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Daniel Dion O'Brien [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | [1] Portland, Oregon, U.S. [2] | July 18, 1966 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) [1] [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) [1] [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | danobrien.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Track & Field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Decathlon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of Idaho | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Mike Keller (UI), Rick Sloan (WSU) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Daniel Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966) is an American former decathlete and Olympic gold medalist. He won the Olympic title in 1996, three consecutive world championships (1991, 1993, 1995), and set the world record in 1992.
O'Brien was born in Portland, Oregon in 1966. He is of African American and Finnish heritage, [3] and grew up as an adopted child in an Irish-American family in Klamath Falls. [4] He attended Henley High School graduating in 1984. At the Oregon High School State Championships he led his team to a team runner-up finish with O'Brien scoring all points. He earned four individual gold medals winning the 110 meter high hurdles, 300 meter hurdles, long jump and 100 yard dash. [3] He then attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he competed in track and field for the Vandals. [5] After initially flunking out of the university and then incurring legal difficulties, [4] [6] O'Brien attended Spokane Falls Community College, a community college in Spokane, Washington in 1987-1988. [7] He returned to the UI to compete for the Vandal track team, [5] [8] and complete his bachelor's degree. [9] [10]
O'Brien trained for his Olympic and world championships on the Palouse under Idaho's track coach Mike Keller, [10] [11] [12] [13] and Rick Sloan of Washington State in neighboring Pullman for the field events. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
O'Brien competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1988; after a fast time in the 100 meters, he was injured in the long jump and withdrew. [19] He took second place at the Goodwill Games in Seattle in 1990, behind Dave Johnson. [20]
As the 1991 world champion, O'Brien entered the Olympic year of 1992 as the favorite to win gold in the decathlon in Barcelona and be proclaimed as the "world's greatest athlete." However, during the U.S. Olympic Trials at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans in late June, O'Brien had a disaster in the eighth event, the pole vault. After passing at the first four (lower) heights, O'Brien entered the competition at 15 ft 9 in (4.80 m), and failed to clear the bar on all three attempts. As a result, he scored no points and dropped from first to eleventh place among the 24 decathletes. [21] [22] He did not make the Olympic team for Barcelona, but he continued to train for the competition held in France a few weeks after the Olympics ended. [23]
O'Brien's "no height" in the pole vault was also a financial embarrassment for his main corporate sponsor, and for NBC television which was heavily promoting the upcoming Olympics. He appeared with U.S. rival Dave Johnson, the Goodwill Games champion, in a popular TV advertising campaign for Reebok. [24] The series of commercials, entitled "Dan & Dave," were meant to build interest in Reebok and the decathletes, culminating in the Olympics in Barcelona. [25] O'Brien's unexpected failure in New Orleans received considerable attention; Reebok adjusted by running new ads featuring him cheering on Dave, who went on to win the bronze medal.
O'Brien regrouped and set a world record of 8,891 points in early September in Talence, France. [26] [27] [28] [29] His marks were as follows: 100 meters in 10.43 seconds (with a tailwind); Long Jump 26 ft 6¼ in (8.08 m); Shot Put 54 ft 9¼ in (16.69 m); High Jump 6 ft 9½ in (2.07 m); 400 meters 48.51 seconds, for a first day total of 4,720 points; Day two 110 Meter High Hurdles in 13.98 seconds; Discus 159 ft 4 inches (48.56m); Pole Vault 16 ft 4¾ in (5.00 m); Javelin 205 ft 4 in (62.58m); 1,500 meter run in 4 minutes 42.10 seconds = total 8,891 points).
This stood as the world record until 1999, [30] and the American record for nearly twenty years, until Ashton Eaton broke it in 2012 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. O'Brien was in attendance at Hayward Field and congratulated Eaton shortly after he completed the 1500 meters for a new world record of 9,039 points. [31]
At the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, O'Brien won the gold medal with 8,824 points, 118 ahead of runner-up Frank Busemann of Germany. [32] [33] [34] After a break from competition, he won the Goodwill Games title in 1998, held east of New York City on Long Island, his eleventh consecutive win since 1992. [35] A plantar fascia injury to his left foot in July 2000, shortly before the U.S. Olympic Trials, caused his withdrawal and he did not defend his title. [36] [37] Injuries continued and prevented his return to the Olympic trials in 2004. [38]
Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
Event | Performance | Location | Date | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
Decathlon | 8,891 points | Talence | September 5, 1992 | 8,891 points |
100 meters | 10.32 (+1.7 m/s) | Atlanta | June 21, 1996 | 1,018 points |
Long jump | 8.08 m (26 ft 6 in) | Talence | September 4, 1992 | 1,081 points |
Shot put | 16.69 m (54 ft 9 in) | Talence | September 4, 1992 | 894 points |
High jump | 2.20 m (7 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | Saint Petersburg | July 28, 1994 | 992 points |
400 meters | 46.53 | Tokyo | August 29, 1991 | 982 points |
110 meters hurdles | 13.47 | San Jose | May 27, 1995 | 1,044 points |
Discus throw | 55.07 m (180 ft 8 in) | Modesto | May 8, 1999 | 977 points |
Pole vault | 5.20 m (17 ft 1⁄2 in) | Tokyo | August 30, 1991 | 972 points |
Javelin throw | 66.90 m (219 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | Atlanta | August 1, 1996 | 842 points |
1500 meters | 4:36.63 | Seattle | July 25, 1990 | 702 points |
Virtual Best Performance | 9,504 points |
O'Brien announced his retirement from the decathlon on July 8, 2004. [39]
O'Brien broke the world record for the fastest game of hopscotch on Chelsea Piers on May 7, 2009. He established a record of 81 seconds, breaking the old mark by two seconds. [40]
Shortly following the 2010 MLB season, O'Brien began working with San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, in an effort to help the struggling slugger lose weight. [41]
In the late 1990s, Dan O'Brien appeared in ads for Italian designer Versace. [42]
On June 1, 2012, O'Brien released a book which was co-written with Brad Botkin, "Clearing Hurdles: The Quest to Be The World's Greatest Athlete" ( ISBN 978-1935628088).
O'Brien and Dave Johnson are the subject of (and participants in) the ESPN Radio 30 for 30 podcast "The Trials of Dave and Dan"
O'Brien has been a resident of the Phoenix area since 1997, [43] relocating from northern Idaho. [44] [45] He owns Gold Medal Acceleration, a gym in Scottsdale, is a volunteer track coach at ASU, and does commentary for track and field events on television.
O'Brien won the Olympic gold medal for decathlon at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and also won gold medals at the 1991, 1993, and 1995 World Championships in Athletics.
Shortly after his gold medal performance at the 1996 Olympics, O'Brien was honored with "Dan O'Brien Day" by the state of Idaho and a parade by the city of Moscow in mid-August. [45] [46] [47] [48]
O'Brien was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, along with Dave Johnson. [49] [50] He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2006, the University of Idaho Sports Hall of Fame with the large inaugural class of 2007, and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012. [51]
A street in Klamath Falls was named for him 1996, [52] [53] [54] and Henley High School honored O'Brien by renaming its football field after the athlete in 2010.
The University of Idaho's outdoor track and field venue was named for O'Brien in 1996. The complex underwent a $2.5 million renovation in 2011–12, [55] [56] and he was on hand in Moscow in May 2012 to rededicate it. [57] [58]
The P1FCU Kibbie Dome, known simply as the Kibbie Dome and formerly named the Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center, is a multi-purpose indoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. It is the home of the Idaho Vandals of the Big Sky Conference for four sports. Basketball was played in the venue until the autumn 2021 opening of the adjacent Idaho Central Credit Union Arena.
The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
The 2002 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University as a member of Pacific-10 Conference the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by Mike Price in his 14th and final season as head coach, and played its home games on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.
The 1992 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Mike Price, the Cougars were 8–3 in the regular season, won their bowl game, and outscored their opponents 337 to 281.
Moscow High School (MHS) is a four-year public high school in Moscow, Idaho, United States. The flagship school of the Moscow School District serves grades 9–12. Since 2013, Erik Perryman has served as principal. MHS colors are red, black, and white, and the mascot is a bear.
The 1998 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Vandals, led by fourth-year head coach Chris Tormey, were members of the Big West Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1983 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). Led by sixth-year head coach Jim Walden, WSU was 7–4 overall, and played their home games at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane and at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.
The 1991 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third season under head coach Mike Price, the Cougars compiled a 4–7 record, and were outscored by their opponents 340 to 280.
The 1993 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth season under head coach Mike Price, the Cougars compiled a 5–6 record, and outscored their opponents 271 to 248.
The 1996 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season, their first in Division I-A. The Broncos competed in the Big West Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Led by fourth-year head coach Pokey Allen and interim head coach Tom Mason, Boise State finished the season at 2–10.
The 1995 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season, their last season in Division I-AA. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Led by third-year head coach Pokey Allen, Boise State finished the season 7–4 overall and 4–3 in conference, ranked 21st in the final regular season poll.
The 1993 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Led by first-year head coach Pokey Allen, Boise State finished the season 3–8 overall and 1–6 in conference.
The 1993 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by fifth-year head coach John L. Smith, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1992 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by fourth-year head coach John L. Smith, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1995 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by first-year head coach Chris Tormey, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho finished the regular season at 6–4 and 4–3 in the Big Sky, their final season in the conference for more than two decades.
The 1983–84 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Vandals were led by first-year head coach Bill Trumbo and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1992–93 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1992–93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Vandals were led by third-year head coach Larry Eustachy and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1995–96 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Vandals were led by third-year head coach Joe Cravens and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1998–99 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Members of the Big West Conference, the Vandals were led by second-year head coach David Farrar and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1998–99 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University for the 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fifth-year head coach Kevin Eastman, the Cougars were members of the Pacific-10 Conference and played their home games on campus at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.