American decathlete Ashton Eaton is the heavy favorite to come out on top of his second-straight Olympic decathlon, and he’s off to a decent start at fulfilling that promise.
Two events into the race for gold, Eaton leads Canada’s Damien Warner by 30 points. Third place is Germany’s Kai Kazmirek, 138 points back of Eaton.
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The American star ran the second-fastest time in the 100m dash before topping the field in the long jump.
Canadian Damien Warner is considered to be the prime threat to Eaton’s throne, and he ran the best 100m dash to lead things off. Fellow American Zach Ziemek finished third in the heat and the event.
Eaton flew past the field in his long jump group, landing a 7.90 and 7.94. Germany’s Kai Kazmirek, Belgium’s Thomas van der Plaetsen, and Canada’s Damian Warner were close.
Ziemek is eight after two events, while USA’s Jeremy Taiwo is 15th.
The shot put is next, followed by high jump.
