As an athlete, you really see a lot of the Instagram paradigm. Where it's just like, 'Me! Me! Me!' When you realize you can 'Give, Give, Give,' it's very interesting, and it's good.
— Ashton Eaton
We are competing against ourselves.
I'm just happy to be part of the family, the decathlon family.
As you get older and gain more experience, you're able to do multiple things. You don't necessarily have to focus so hard on your performance in order to have a good one.
In our marriage, the success of our athletic dreams comes before everything. 'Hey do you want to watch a movie?' 'No, I have a hard workout tomorrow.'
In high school, I had a gold 1992 Ford Explorer. It was a gift. I used to have a terrible habit of locking the keys in the car when I used leave the car running to help it start on a cold morning. I think the local locksmith became used to me calling him.
Universities are like a utopia in a way, because you're mentally stimulated, you're challenged, and you have a lot of young, creative minds wanting to do new things, different things. Better things.
I would like to have a decathlon where all of my throws are really consistent and set the tone. That I'm good all-around, not just a speed and jump guy.
It would be fantastic to spend your whole life trying to pursue something and then finally, at the last moment, you achieve it. You know, instead of getting it in the middle of the pursuit and spending the second half giving it meaning.
The opportunity to represent your country at the Olympic Games is earned, not given.
I've got to do Gotzis at least once.
I think that titles are for, I don't know, books and stuff. I just like doing what I'm doing.
Nike came to me and said, 'We're interested in the decathlon and interested in seeing if we can help you get as close to 10,000 points as we can.'
I was never interested in golf until someone brought up the Get Golf Ready program to me.
I was one of those kids who, everything I tried sports-related, I liked.
I won't back down. I get a satisfaction from being tested and defeating the test.
The thing I like about decathlon is also the thing I dislike: It's the maximum challenge, but also the maximum frustration.
The questions to ask are, why was the decathlon so popular before, and what happened to make it fade? I notice a lot of things in general tend to follow that up-and-down trend.
I guess the decathlon's never an easy walkthrough.
The decathlon is exclusive company.
I dated my first girlfriend for, like, two weeks in high school, and when you're in high school, it's so much different. I wanted to hang out with my friends and play video games and play paintball and do guy stuff. Girls were never around for my friends group.
My local newspaper, the 'Bend Bulletin,' interviewed me while I was at high school after I had just signed with the University of Oregon. I remember I wore a University of Oregon hooded sweatshirt, and they took a picture of me in the long jump pit. I was freezing!
The first pet I remember was a cat called Baby. She would sleep with me, and I could call her from anywhere, and she would come running.
I thought it'd be cool to start my own university, in a way.
The Olympic gold was like going to a theater and seeing a movie that had the ending you expected. But you left the theater thinking, 'You know, that was a good movie.'
I must refine my training every day to give myself the best opportunity to achieve my dreams during the Olympic Games in Rio.
I'm very happy to have set a world record in Tallinn. Estonians sure do love athletics and combined events!
If I won a second Olympic title, maybe I would be tempted to go after a third.
Know that even when you want to give up or throw in the towel, in the end it will all be worth the hard work.
I haven't played a full round of golf yet, but I did make two pars my first time out on a golf course.
You see somebody on a football field make a great, athletic 70-yard run, but the athleticism is immeasurable. It's undoubtedly athletic, but compared to somebody else who did something else, how do you compare it? That's the great part of track and field. It's a test, but with results that you can compare to others.
When I'm on the track, I like hearing the fans cheer me on.
I want to see where I measure up against everyone in the world and everyone who has ever competed in the sport, and there's that innate sense of wanting to challenge myself. I'm competitive in all aspects.
My goal in Korea is to win. There's no timetable when to set the American record.
It has been a pleasure being in the same era. I mean, the guy's last name is Bolt, and he's the fastest man ever. You can't write a story like that, and so to be in the pages in there is nice.
To be with the other two-time gold medalists is great, but it's great to just be a decathlete.
I always try to do better than I have before, so I think it would be good to break the world record.
You try to figure out the best way to throw the shot put, or the perfect way to long jump, and you don't ever get it. You just chip away, chip away, chip away as time goes on.
The first sport I played was baseball. I remember being on the Little League team and someone pitching the ball to me for the first time. I was ready to no longer hit the ball off the tee, and an adult pitched it to me underhand.
That's what has always been good about track. The goal is very clearly defined: Try to win. Get the gold medal. And I'm able to put my energy toward that.
If I have to run to put myself in the hospital, if I have to run that hard, that's how hard I'll have to run.
The world record is like you we went to the theater to see this movie, and it was really good, and it had an unexpected ending, and you left the theater saying, 'Wow, that was such a great movie.'
Every day, we as athletes face several challenges during the training process, and it is imperative that we approach each situation carefully and with continued precision.
You're just constantly battling this thing that is telling you, 'I don't think I can do it.' I think we all have it. When you're fresh and alert, you can easily put those doubts down. But when you're tired, they easily come up to the surface.
I actually like indoor track and field more than outdoor.
My key to dealing with stress is simple: just stay cool and stay focused.
Track and field is tougher physically, but golf is tougher mentally.
I don't have one specific person that I think is the most athletic person.
After asking questions about current recovery techniques, the conversation prompted me to ask myself, 'Why does it feel good after running to pour a bottle of water over your head?' I don't know the physiological answer, but the fact that it does feel better makes me perform better.
The desire definitely comes from within. There are only a few people who make it to this level and those are the ones who have that innate desire.
