Bryan Clay facts for kids
Clay in 2010
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| Born | January 3, 1980 Austin, Texas, United States |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 185 lb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Bryan Ezra Tsumoru Clay (born January 3, 1980) is an American athlete. He is famous for competing in the decathlon, a tough track and field event. Bryan won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the decathlon. He was also a World champion in 2005.
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About Bryan Clay
Bryan Clay was born in Austin, Texas. He grew up in Hawaii. His mother, Michele Ishimoto, came to America from Japan. His father, Greg Clay, is African-American. Bryan's parents divorced when he was young. His mother mostly raised him.
He has a younger brother, Nikolas. Nikolas was also a great athlete at Azusa Pacific University. Bryan finished James B. Castle High School in Hawaii in 1998. In 2013, Bryan was honored in the Azusa Pacific Hall of Fame for his track and field achievements.
Bryan is married to Sarah Smith. They have three children: a son named Jacob (born 2005) and two daughters, Katherine (Kate) (born 2007) and Elizabeth (Ellie) (born 2010). Bryan is a Christian. He believes that being healthy in mind, body, and feelings helps him in sports.
Bryan's Sports Career
Bryan started competing in track and field in high school. He later went to Azusa Pacific University in California. There, he continued to train and compete. An Olympian named Chris Huffins encouraged Bryan to try the decathlon.
The decathlon is a very challenging event. Athletes compete in ten different track and field events over two days. These events include running, jumping, and throwing.
Bryan won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He then won first place at the 2005 World Championships. In 2007, he had to stop competing in the World Championships because of injuries. Even so, he had the best scores in the 100-meter run and the long jump before he left.
Bryan won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. His win was by a huge margin of 240 points. This was the biggest winning difference since 1972. The Olympic decathlon champion is often called the "World's Greatest Athlete." Before the Olympics, Bryan took a special test called SPARQ. This test measures how athletic someone is in different sports. Bryan got a very high score in the football test, which was the highest ever at that time.
After the Beijing Olympics, Bryan was featured on a special Wheaties cereal box. Another athlete, gymnast Nastia Liukin, was also on the box.
In 2009, Bryan got a hamstring injury. This stopped him from competing in the World Championships in Berlin. He came back strong in 2010. He won the men's heptathlon at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships. The heptathlon is similar to the decathlon but has seven events and is usually held indoors.
In 2012, Bryan tried to make it to his third Olympics. He wanted to defend his Olympic title. Only two other athletes had done this before. However, during the 110 metres hurdles event, he tripped. He still finished the competition, but he did not qualify for the Olympics that year.
Major Achievements
Bryan Clay has won many important medals:
- Gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships (Heptathlon)
- Gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics (Decathlon)
- Gold medal at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships (Heptathlon)
- Gold medal at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics (Decathlon)
- Silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics (Decathlon)
- Silver medal at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships (Heptathlon)
Images for kids
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Bryan Clay in 2016
Politics
Bryan Clay spoke at a political convention in 2008.
See also
In Spanish: Bryan Clay para niños
- List of Olympic decathlon medalists
- Black conservatism in the United States
