Two-time Olympic gold medalist Ashton Eaton announces his retirement

Former Oregon decathlete star Ashton Eaton announced his retirement yesterday, ending a historic career highlighted by gold medals at the London and Rio Olympics. His wife, Brianne Theisen-Eaton, who also competed for the University of Oregon, is also retiring with Eaton. Theisen-Eaton is an Olympic bronze medalist in the heptathlon. The couple made the announcement on their website.

Eaton started competing in the decathlon a decade ago, and during his time at the University of Oregon from 2006-2010, Eaton excelled at the event, winning the NCAA championship in the decathlon in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Eaton won The Bowerman, which is track & field’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.

After leaving Oregon, Eaton continued to deliver jaw-dropping performances in the decathlon. At the 2012 US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Eaton broke the world record in the decathlon, finishing with 9,039 points. Eaton followed up that performance by winning the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

At the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, Eaton broke his own world record, winning gold with a score of 9,045 points.

Then, in 2016, Eaton became just the third man to ever defend an Olympic title in the decathlon, tying the Olympic record along the way.

Eaton also holds the world record in the heptathlon with 6,645 points, which he set at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Turkey.

With the exception of his first World Championship meet in 2009, Eaton never finished worse than second at any World Championships or Olympics and won seven straight gold medals from 2012-2016.