Dan O'Brien

Career

Olympics 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 , 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. 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.

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. The series of commercials, entitled "Dan & Dave," were meant to build interest in Reebok and the decathletes, culminating in the Olympics in Barcelona. 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. 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, 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.

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. 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. 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. Injuries continued and prevented his return to the Olympic trials in 2004.

Personal bests Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Outdoor +Individual events Event Performance Location Date 100 meters 10.70 (+1.8 m/s) Modesto May 8, 1999 10.52 (+2.3 m/s) Modesto May 10, 1998 110 meters hurdles 13.47 (+0.0 m/s) San Jose May 27, 1995 Long jump (+0.0 m/s) San Jose May 27, 1995 (+2.3 m/s) Modesto May 11, 1991 High jump Pullman May 2, 1998 Pole vault Reno February 10, 1996 Shot put Reno February 10, 1996 Discus throw Modesto May 8, 1999 Javelin throw Flagstaff July 8, 2000

+Combined events Event Performance Location Date Points Decathlon Talence September 4–5, 1992 8,891 points 100 meters 10.32 (+1.7 m/s) Atlanta June 21, 1996 1,018 points Long jump (+1.8 m/s) Talence September 4, 1992 1,081 points Shot put Talence September 4, 1992 894 points High jump Saint Petersburg July 28, 1994 992 points 400 meters 46.53 Tokyo August 29, 1991 982 points 110 meters hurdles 13.67 (+0.4 m/s) New York July 20, 1998 1,018 points Discus throw Berkeley June 20, 2002 946 points Pole vault Tokyo August 30, 1991 972 points Javelin throw Atlanta August 1, 1996 842 points 1500 meters 4:36.63 Seattle July 25, 1990 702 points Virtual Best Performance 9,447 points

Indoor +Individual events Event Performance Location Date 50 meters 6.63 Los Angeles February 13, 1999 55 meters 7.26 San Diego January 23, 1999 60 meters hurdles 7.68 Modesto March 2, 1996 Long jump Houston February 3, 1996 Shot put Reno February 10, 1996 Pole vault Reno February 10, 1996

+Combined events Event Performance Location Date Points Heptathlon Toronto March 13–14, 1993 6,476 points 60 meters 6.67 Toronto March 13, 1993 1,003 points Long jump Toronto March 13, 1993 992 points Shot put Toronto March 13, 1993 852 points High jump Toronto March 13, 1993 925 points 60 meters hurdles 7.68 Toronto March 14, 1993 1,064 points Pole vault Toronto March 14, 1993 972 points 1000 meters 2:57.96 Toronto March 14, 1993 684 points Virtual Best Performance 6,476 points

Retirement O'Brien announced his retirement from the decathlon on July 8, 2004.

Other athletics 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.

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.

Modeling and product endorsements In the late 1990s, Dan O'Brien appeared in ads for Italian designer Versace.

Literature 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" .

Podcast 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"

Personal life In 1994, O'Brien was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Wellbutrin.

Since 1997, O'Brien has been a resident of the Phoenix area, having relocated from northern Idaho. 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.

Honors and awards 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.

O'Brien was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, along with Dave Johnson. 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.

A street in Klamath Falls was named for him 1996, 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, and he was on hand in Moscow in May 2012 to rededicate it.