Taiwo Completes Olympic Decathlon In 11th-Place
August 18, 2016 | Track & Field
RIO DE JANEIRO β Former Husky Jeremy Taiwo battled through 10 events over the past two days on track and field's greatest stage for the title of world's greatest athlete. The 2013 UW product and Renton, Wash. native completed his first Olympic Games experience with an 11th-place finish today, and crossed the finish line second in the final event, the 1,500-meters, just ahead of Team USA teammate and gold medal winner Ashton Eaton.
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Taiwo, who competes professionally for Brooks, followed in his father Joseph's footsteps this week, as Joseph Taiwo competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics in the triple jump for Nigeria. This was the third global championship for Taiwo, as he made Team USA for the 2013 and 2015 World Outdoor Championships, but he had to withdraw partway through both of those decathlons, so fighting all the way through the decathlon and finishing strong was a great feeling for the former Pac-10 champion.
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Heading into the final day in fifth position, Taiwo got the day started at Olympic Stadium with a solid 110m hurdles run in 14.57 seconds. The discus throw was not his best, at 130-11, but Taiwo bounced back with one of the best pole vaults of his career, as he had consecutive third attempt makes at 16-0 ΒΎ and 16-4 ΒΎ and that moved him back up to eighth in the overall point standings.
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Javelin proved to be the thorn in his side today, as his best throw of 168-feet, 3-inches was 23rd out of all competitors and resulted in his lowest point total of the two days. But going into the final 1,500-meter run, Taiwo wouldn't be satisfied with coasting, and he finished second in his 12-man heat and third overall in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:21.96.
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Taiwo's total score was an even 8,300 points, the third-highest point total of his career, and just three points shy of his second-best score. He wound up 11th out of 32 entries, only 25 of which were able to finish all 10 events.
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Taiwo, who competes professionally for Brooks, followed in his father Joseph's footsteps this week, as Joseph Taiwo competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics in the triple jump for Nigeria. This was the third global championship for Taiwo, as he made Team USA for the 2013 and 2015 World Outdoor Championships, but he had to withdraw partway through both of those decathlons, so fighting all the way through the decathlon and finishing strong was a great feeling for the former Pac-10 champion.
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Heading into the final day in fifth position, Taiwo got the day started at Olympic Stadium with a solid 110m hurdles run in 14.57 seconds. The discus throw was not his best, at 130-11, but Taiwo bounced back with one of the best pole vaults of his career, as he had consecutive third attempt makes at 16-0 ΒΎ and 16-4 ΒΎ and that moved him back up to eighth in the overall point standings.
Β
Javelin proved to be the thorn in his side today, as his best throw of 168-feet, 3-inches was 23rd out of all competitors and resulted in his lowest point total of the two days. But going into the final 1,500-meter run, Taiwo wouldn't be satisfied with coasting, and he finished second in his 12-man heat and third overall in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:21.96.
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Taiwo's total score was an even 8,300 points, the third-highest point total of his career, and just three points shy of his second-best score. He wound up 11th out of 32 entries, only 25 of which were able to finish all 10 events.
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