Gray Horn is about to finish this 1,500-meter race. He’s not in first, but it doesn’t matter. He gets to the finish line and collapses. He’s smiling.
The trainers swarm him, medical equipment ready. They shower him with cups of water and whisper congratulations to him. It looks like he’s finished first in the decathlon. It looks like he’s an SEC champion. All he knows is that he’s finished.
“It’s exactly what I would call an out-of-body experience,” he says after the race.
The voice over the loudspeaker announces, “The 2009 decathlon is complete … the results will be announced shortly.”
***
On Thursday, the first day of the decathlon at the 2009 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Horn, a Florida freshman, had built up a 57-point lead over Michael Ayers of Tennessee for first place.
Despite his lead, Horn wasn’t pleased with his performance. He finished third in the 100-meter dash, second in the long jump, fifth in the shot put and tied for second in the high jump.
“I had an average first day,” he says. “Some things went well, but a lot of things didn’t go how we’d hoped.”
In a decathlon, the competitor doesn’t have to finish first in each event to win, but he needs to finish strong in each one. Horn wasn’t happy about his fifth-place finish in the shot put. But he knew he can balance it out in other events.
Most of all, he needed to keep up his stamina. Many of the events are physically grueling in isolation – put them together, and it’s nearly impossible to finish. Out of 17 men who started the decathlon, only 13 finished.
“It takes a special breed of human – kind of mentally insane, you might call it,” Horn said. “Not many people know what it’s like to do 10 events and how tired you are the whole time. Even after the 100 meters, your legs are burning already. And that’s the first event.”
On Friday, Horn woke up and could barely stand because of how bad his knee hurt, but the trainers loosened it up and he got off to a quick start. To hold onto his lead, he needed a good Day 2 – something that he has struggled with all season.
He finished first in the 110-meter hurdles and in the discus throw and second in the pole vault – an event that he had struggled in during the season.
“The pole vault was a huge finish for me,” he said. “The supporting cast – the girls and boys on the team yelling at me – pulled me through it. Knowing that you have that kind of support, no matter what, just gives you a peace inside of you.”
The pole vault made the difference Friday. It helped Horn open up a 216-point lead heading into the last two events. The first was the javelin throw – Horn’s worst event. The last, that 1,500-meter race.
He struggled mightily in the javelin, finishing eighth and falling 60 points behind to Ayers.
“Some people let themselves get down, but that’s not part of being a champion,” Horn said. “I knew that, after the javelin, I’d blown it. I had a 200-plus point lead, and I saw that all disappear. After working for that lead for two days, I saw it disappear in 10 minutes.”
After leading for nearly the entire decathlon, he had one more chance to reclaim his spot at the top. But first, a rain-delay interrupted the decathlon, sending the athletes in for an early dinner before the 1,500-meter race.
The break gave Horn some time to think. He told himself about the dreams that he’s had. He told himself about his preparation. He challenged himself.
“What are you going to do next, Gray?” he asked himself. He was going to give everything he had left.
***
Earlier in the day, he was listening to his iPod and thinking, “What if it does come down to the final race?” Horn told himself that if he was anywhere close in the end that he wouldn’t miss his chance.
The gun fired and the athletes took off. This was an athlete’s dream. It was time for the fourth-quarter comeback.
“After the javelin – after a poor performance like that – it’s one of those times in your life where you don’t care what happens to yourself,” Horn said. “You’re disappointed in yourself. Whatever it takes to win, you will do it.”
With 300 meters left, Horn started questioning himself. He wondered if he had anything left in the tank.
And then he got an extra push.
“I really feel like God carried me through it,” he said.
Every second difference between the runners counts for 10 points. Seconds before he finished, seconds before he collapsed, he looked back to see how far ahead of Ayers he was.
He thought it would be enough.
Either way, Horn had had enough. He collapsed and knew that he had given everything.
“That’s what I did, and it felt good,” he said. “All of the trainers that have gone out of their way to help me and my event coaches deserve a part in this. It’s not one person that does this. It’s a system of people. I did this for the Florida Gators in hopes that we could bring home a title.”
Horn is rushed to the locker room to cool down. He later comes back out to talk to a reporter. He has in his hands the results of the decathlon.
After all of the three-hour-a-day workouts, after all the meets leading up to this, after falling behind with hardly enough time left to make up the ground he had lost, the results told Gray Horn what he hoped they would.
“Of course, it hasn’t sank in yet, and it won’t sink in for a long time,” Horn said “It’s something that I dream about. It still feels like a dream.”
Gray Horn, who passed Ayers, 7,389 points to 7,366, was the SEC decathlon champion.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.
Friday’s results
MEN
Team standings
1. Georgia 28; 2. Auburn 2; 3. Louisiana State 16; 4. TIE, Tennessee and Mississippi State 11; 6. TIE, Alabama and Florida 10; 8. Arkansas 9; 9. South Carolina 3; 10. Kentucky 1.
Events
All events in meters
Decathlon: 1. Gray Horn (Florida) 7,389 points; 2. Michael Ayers (Tennessee) 7,366; 3. Tommy Barrineau (Georgia) 6,987; 4. Jager Livingston (Auburn) 6,628; 5. Daryl Brady (Mississippi State) 6,573; 6. Antione Lipscomb (Mississippi State) 6,302; 7. Cory Harris (Georgia) 6,236; 8. Kevin Carney (Kentucky) 6,066.
10,000: 1. Tyson David (Alabama) 30:09.50; 2. Girma Mecheso (Auburn) 30:13.53; 3. Scott MacPherson (Arkansas) 30:17.48; 4. Jean-Pierre Weerts (Auburn) 30:18.76; 5. Robert Scribner (Mississippi State) 30:42.57; 6. Michael Spooner (Tennessee) 30:52.75; 7. Lane Boyer (Arkansas) 30:58.09; 8. Rio Reina (Arkansas) 31:04.41; 9. Anthony Morales (Florida) 31:44.22.
Hammer Throw: 1. Walter Henning (Louisiana State) 69.93m; 2. Branislav Danis (Georgia) 65.81m; 3. Nate Rolfe (Georgia) 65.46m; 4. John Freeman (Georgia) 64.44m; 5. Rabun Fox (Louisiana State) 62.60m; 6. Mike Zajac (South Carolina) 62.15m; 7. Michael Lauro (Louisiana State) 62.00m; 8. David Scheidt (Georgia) 60.86m.
WOMEN
Team standings
1. Arkansas 31; 2. Alabama 18; 3. Florida 15; 4. Kentucky 14; 5. Mississippi State 12; 6. Louisiana State 8; 7. Mississippi 7; 8. Auburn 5; 9. Tennessee 3; 10. TIE, South Carolina and Georgia 2.
Events
All events in meters
Heptathlon: 1. Etienne Chaplin (Arkansas) 5,594 points; 2. Marrissa Harris (Mississippi State) 5,579; 3. Ashley Trimble (Kentucky) 5,530; 4. Chealsea Taylor (Alabama) 5,406; 5. Laquinta Aaron (Mississippi State) 5,351; 6. Rachel Robbs (Alabama) 5,242; 7. Kettiany Clarke (South Carolina) 5,181; 8. Precious Nwokey (Kentucky) 4,833.
10,000: 1. Catherine White (Arkansas) 35:07.50; 2. Denise Bargiachi (Arkansas) 35:13.64; 3. Sara Petrick (Florida) 35:15.39; 4. Laura Garrow (Florida) 35:17.66; 5. Jacy Kruzel (Florida) 35:40.27; 6. Christine Kalmer (Arkansas) 36:00.62; 7. Bridget Lyons (Georgia) 36:02.60; 8. Laurel Pritchard (Auburn) 36:12.77.
Hammer Throw: 1. Angelica Howard (Alabama) 59.69m; 2. Kim Williams (Louisiana State) 58.59; 3. Ashley Muffet (Kentucky) 58.55; 4. Juliana Smith (Mississippi) 56.63m; 5. Valentina Srsa (Auburn) 54.35m; 6. Laquoya Kelly (Tennessee) 53.37m; 7. Davina Orieukwu (Mississippi) 51.94m; 8. Kristin Smith (Kentucky) 51.48m.