Trey Hardee

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Trey Hardee

James Edward "Trey" Hardee III (born February 7, 1984 in Vestavia Hills) is an Olympic decathlete who represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China and won the silver medal at the 2012 games in London, England.

Hardee graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 2002. His first interest was in basketball, but he was cut from the varsity team during his junior year and instead focused on track and field, with a primary interest in the pole vault.

Hardee was recruited as a vaulter to Mississippi State University. When the Bulldogs eliminated their indoor track program in 2004 he transferred to the University of Texas in Austin. He set an NCAA record in the decathlon with 8,465 points at the 2006 Texas Relays. During that event he topeed 17'-0 3/4" on the pole vault, bettering his personal record by four inches. He graduated in 2006 but continues to live and train in Austin.

Hardee finished second at the 2008 U. S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon with a combined score of 8,534. During the Beijing games he failed to qualify in the pole vault, normally one of his stronger events, and was eliminated from competition.

At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, in Berlin, Hardee won gold in the decathlon with a personal-best score of 8,790. He was awarded the Jim Thorpe All-Around Award by the United States Sports Academy for his achievements that year. In the same year, he won the USA Outdoor champion with a score of 8,261.

At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Hardee won a silver medal in the heptathlon. And at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in August, Hardee defended his world decathlon title with a final points tally of 8,607, defeating compatriot Ashton Eaton.

In 2012, Hardee again finished behind Eaton in the Olympic Trials, making a second US Olympic Team. In the Summer Games, Eaton won gold and Hardee won silver.

References

  • Melick, Ray (June 16, 2009) "Vestavia Hills decathlete targets USA track and field championships." The Birmingham News

External links