PORTLAND — Everything Ashton Eaton does is “authentic, real and true,” said Vin Lananna, his former coach at the University of Oregon, suggesting that one can accept on face value the subtle sense of disappointment on Eaton’s face following his record-setting third world indoor championship in the heptathlon.
It was a good performance — a great one, even: Eaton finished Saturday night with 6,470 points, besting the second-place finisher, Oleksiy Kasyanov of Ukraine, by 288 points. The 6,470 points are the fourth-most in World Indoor Championship history; only fellow American Dan O’Brien and Eaton himself have surpassed 6,450 points in indoor competition.
Yet it still fell short of his world-record total of 6,645 points, posted at the championships held in Istanbul in 2012, and a distance shy of the record 574-point margin of victory set at the same meet. Hence Eaton’s disappointment, strange as it may seem.
“To me, it’s just about pushing myself,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I think this is a subpar performance, because I obviously didn’t beat myself.”
Eaton called his jumping “good,” his pole vault “OK,” and added, “I definitely need to work on my high jump.” His throwing has been “great in practice,” but in competition “it’s a different feeling.”
It can’t be easy being the top overall athlete in track and field, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon and the undisputed world champion in his respective event — and it’s definitely not easy when you are essentially competing against yourself, having lapped the field leading into the Rio Summer Games.
No, it’s not the worst problem to have. More and more, however, Eaton finds himself chasing not the competition but his own personal bests, marks that double as world records.
He made a desperation heave at resetting his high-water mark from 2012 at this year’s Indoor Championships, held in his hometown, by attempting to clear just over 18 feet in the pole vault. After clearing 16 feet, 8 3/4 inches in the event, essentially securing a first-place finish, Eaton had turned to his coach, Harry Marra, and asked: What do I need for the world record?
This is an athlete, after all, who has posted indoor times of 6.66 seconds in the 60 meters, 7.51 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles and 47.8 seconds in the 400 meters, and who last month in Boston set a new personal best at 5.4 meters (17 feet, 8 1/2 inches) in the pole vault.
“It’s kind of hard,” he said. “You have to psych yourself up. You have to tell yourself to still run hard. Luckily, I had some guys that helped push me. But it’s hard. You miss that little extra oomph.”
His competition in the heptathlon, meanwhile — including Kasyanov, a two-time Olympian in the decathlon, and Jorge Urena, who holds Spain’s national record in the event — can only marvel at Eaton’s consistency.
“This is like an average performance for him, and it was still better than anyone else has done in history. It’s crazy,” said Albuquerque, N.M., native Curtis Beach, who finished fourth in the event.
“And he’s so easygoing, and so much fun to compete with. Competing with him you see all the reasons why he’s so good, beyond just natural athletic ability. He just loves the competition and loves when everyone else does well, too. It’s amazing competing with him.”
If contending alongside Eaton helps push his competition to greater heights — if still at a discouraging distance from the world-record holder — he isn’t afforded a similar luxury: Eaton is competing largely against himself, as the undisputed top athlete in his event and one of America’s strongest hopes for gold at the upcoming Summer Games.
“Going forward, there are some things we need to work on,” Eaton said. “Competition really highlights your mistakes. It’s kind of about who makes the fewest mistakes. I made some mistakes, but I’ll go back to training and try to work on them.”
