Huffins Starts Fast, but O’Brien Poised for Victory Today

ATLANTA —  Eight days into the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, a world record finally fell. Actually, it counts only as a world best because such marks in the decathlon are not dignified by the International Amateur Athletic Federation.

Whatever it is called officially, Chris Huffins’ time of 10.22 seconds Friday in the 100 meters, the first of 10 events in the decathlon, was unprecedented in 80 years of the decathlon.

It was only one-hundredth of a second slower than the time run by Carl Lewis in the 100 final last Saturday night and four-hundredths of a second faster than the previous decathlon world best set in 1986 by Great Britain’s two-time Olympic champion, Daley Thompson.

Huffins, a former NCAA champion from California, got off to a fast start on the hottest day of the trials.

He had personal bests in three other events and takes a 69-point lead--4,687 to 4,618--over three-time world champion Dan O’Brien into the final five events today at Centennial Olympic Stadium.

Steve Fritz is third at 4,445.

O’Brien probably won’t spend a sleepless night because of his deficit.

Huffins was second after the first day in the 1992 trials in New Orleans and finished 15th. He has improved his second-day performance since then, enough to finish second in the national championships and eighth in the world last year, but still O’Brien figures to win.

“I knew I would have to work hard from start to finish in this meet,” O’Brien said. “I’m ready to do that. Chris really has to do some good things to beat me [today].”

That would not necessarily be true if O’Brien’s nerves disintegrate, as they did when he failed to clear a height in the pole vault four years ago in New Orleans. That cost him a place on the U.S. team and perhaps an Olympic gold medal in Barcelona.

If O’Brien is right when he says that he has learned from that experience, and we will find out today in the decathlon pole vault, some other athlete will become the new poster child for those who argue that the pressurized trials are not the best system to select the Olympic team.