Word: decathlon
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...DECATHLON...
...decathlon competition at Munich four years ago, Russian Gold Medalist Nikolai Avilov was still catching his breath when a young man approached him, shook his hand and announced he would take Avilov's crown away from him at the next Olympics. "I took a good look," Avilov recalls. "Just think, a kid who had placed way down the list somewhere [tenth] threatening to beat...
...threat was justified for the speaker was Bruce Jenner, now U.S. decathlon champion and holder of the world record since August 1975. The mark he broke was Avilov's. Last month at the U.S. Olympic trials, despite relatively weak performances in the shotput and pole vault, Jenner scored 8,538 points and broke the record again. No one else has ever topped 8,500 points. Avilov, meanwhile, has had limited competition since Munich; for a year he was without a coach, and last winter he strained a knee ligament, which slowed his training...
First, Jenner must prove that his balanced performance in the ten running, throwing, and jumping events that make up the taxing, two-day decathlon contest can overcome Avilov's excellence in three. Powered by his heavily muscled legs, Avilov (6 ft. 3 in., 191 lbs.) is expected to outscore Jenner in the long jump, high jump and the 110-meter hurdles. Jenner (6 ft. 2 in., 195 lbs.), who is more supple, has an edge in the pole vault, 100 meters and 1,500 meters. The 400 meters could go to either. In the throwing events, which involve both...
Because of the decathlon's schedule, the duel may well provide one of the Olympics' most electric moments. Avilov could have a substantial lead (150 to 200 points) after the first day's five events, but then Jenner should come on strong. "I'll be behind for nine events-it will be that close," says Jenner. The last event, the 1,500, is a Jenner specialty. The question: Under the lights as the evening wears on, and after two grueling days of tension, can Jenner win his race by a big enough margin...