1. Bryan Ezra Tsumoru Clay is an American decathlete who was the 2008 Summer Olympic champion for the decathlon and was World champion in 2005.
16 Facts About Bryan Clay
1. 2.
Bryan Clay's mother, Michele Ishimoto, was a Japanese immigrant to America.
3.
Bryan Clay's parents divorced when he was in elementary school and he was raised primarily by his mother.
4.
Bryan Clay has a younger brother, Nikolas, who was a standout athlete on the Azusa Pacific University track team.
5.
On March 23,2013, Bryan Clay was inducted into the Azusa Pacific Hall of Fame in track and field.
6.
Bryan Clay believes that a balance of mental, physical and emotional health will help him in athletic competition.
7.
Bryan Clay competed in track and field in high school, during which time he was coached by Dacre Bowen and Martin Hee.
8.
Bryan Clay then attended Azusa Pacific University, an Evangelical Christian college near Los Angeles, California, where he competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and was coached by Mike Barnett, who still coaches him.
9.
Bryan Clay decided to compete in the decathlon after persuasion from Olympian Chris Huffins.
10.
Bryan Clay won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, and finished first at the 2005 World Championships.
11.
Bryan Clay won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in the decathlon.
12.
The Olympic decathlon champion is referred to as the "World's Greatest Athlete" and prior to the Olympics, Bryan Clay was tested by SPARQ to establish his SPARQ Rating across a number of different sports.
13.
The test is meant to measure sport-specific athleticism and in the football test Bryan Clay recorded a score of 130.40, the highest ever recorded up to that point.
14.
Bryan Clay is one of two Olympians featured on a special edition post-Beijing Olympics Wheaties cereal box; the other was gymnast Nastia Liukin.
15.
Bryan Clay returned to action in 2010 and won the men's heptathlon at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
16.
In 2012, Bryan Clay had returned to the Olympic Trials in hopes of making a third Olympics and defending his title.