2016 Olympics Men’s Formchart

(click to see women’s chart)

fearless forecasting by T&FN staff & contributors

The 10-deep predictions for each event:

100 METERS
At 29 (30 the day of the Closing Ceremony) is Bolt too old to craft an historic third gold in a row? At 34 is prime challenger Gatlin too old to put up a real challenge? Answers: no and no… Lifetime, the Jamaican is 7–1 over the American, Gatlin’s sole win coming back in ’13… Gatlin led for much of the World Championships final last year but may have done himself in by leaning too soon… Bromell and De Grasse represent the peak of the event’s youth movement as we could see some form of repeat of last year’s WC podium.
1. Usain Bolt (Jamaica) 9.59 (’09)
2. Justin Gatlin (USA) 9.74 (’15)
3. Trayvon Bromell (USA) 9.84 (’15)
4. Andre De Grasse (Canada) 9.92 (’15)
5. Femi Ogunode (Qatar) 9.91 (’15)
6. Yohan Blake (Jamaica) 9.69 (’12)
7. Akani Simbine (South Africa) 9.89 (’16)
8. Jimmy Vicaut (France) 9.86 (’15)
9. Marvin Bracy (USA) 9.93 (’15)
10. Churandy Martina (Holland) 9.91 (’12)
200 METERS
Remarkably, Bolt and Gatlin have met only twice. They split the two meetings, but the American’s win came when Bolt was only 18… Bolt hasn’t lost a championship 200 to anyone since ’07 (Tyson Gay)… Former Olympic/World 400 champ Merritt is suddenly a factor here, owning the yearly world lead. But, he’ll be doubling back from the 400.
1. Usain Bolt (Jamaica) 19.19 (’09)
2. Justin Gatlin (USA) 19.57 (’15)
3. LaShawn Merritt (USA) 19.74 (’16)
4. Alonso Edward (Panama) 19.81 (’09)
5. Andre De Grasse (Canada) 19.88 (’15)
6. Miguel Francis (Antigua) 19.67 (’16)
7. Adam Gemili (Great Britain) 19.98 (’14)
8. Churandy Martina (Holland) 19.85 (’12)
9. Nickel Ashmeade (Jamaica) 19.85 (’12)
10. Ameer Webb (USA) 19.85 (’16)
400 METERS
James and Merritt won the last two Olympic golds, were relegated to silver and bronze at the Worlds last year as van Niekerk came from out of the blue to run faster than either of them ever have. Was it a 1-time surprise?… Lane draw may have a lot to say as to how this one plays out.
1. Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) 43.48 (’15)
2. Kirani James (Grenada) 43.74 (’14)
3. LaShawn Merritt (USA) 43.65 (’15)
4. Machel Cedenio (Trinidad) 44.34 (’16)
5. Bralon Taplin (Grenada) 44.38 (’16)
6. Steven Gardiner (Bahamas) 44.27 (’15)
7. Ali Khamis Abbas (Bahrain) 44.55 (’16)
8. Nery Brenes (Costa Rica) 44.60 (’16)
9. Gil Roberts (USA) 44.53 (’14)
10. Isaac Makwala (Botswana) 43.72 (’15)
800 METERS
The experienced Rudisha, clearly not in the shape he was 4 years ago, still represents an imposing force, having won the WC last summer… Kipketer is the strongest of challengers, coming off a win over Rudisha at the Kenyan Trials and a victory in Monaco… Berian won the World Indoor, but is untested at this level of outdoor competition… The 2+2 format in the semis will lead to some major character(s) falling by the wayside.
1. David Rudisha (Kenya) 1:40.91 (’12)
2. Alfred Kipketer (Kenya) 1:43.73 (’16)
3. Ayanleh Souleiman (Djibouti) 1:42.97 (’15)
4. Boris Berian (USA) 1:43.34 (’15)
5. Nijel Amos (Botswana) 1:41.73 (’12)
6. Adam Kszczot (Poland) 1:43.30 (’11)
7. Pierre-Ambroise Bosse (France) 1:42.53 (’14)
8. Ferguson Cheruiyot (Kenya) 1:42.84 (’14)
9. Clayton Murphy (USA) 1:44.76 (’16)
10. Mohamed Aman (Ethiopia) 1:42.37 (’13)
1500 METERS
If the top 4 looks familiar, it should, matching last year’s WC placings… In OG/WC races since ’08, Kiprop is 4 for 6, with a 2nd to Makhloufi in London… Prime U.S. hope Centro, a savvy racer, was 4th in London, 8th at the ’15 WC but this year’s World Indoor champ.
1. Asbel Kiprop (Kenya) 3:26.69 (’15)
2. Elijah Manangoi (Kenya) 3:29.67 (’15)
3. Abdelaati Iguider (Morocco) 3:28.79 (’15)
4. Taoufik Makhloufi (Algeria) 3:28.75 (’15)
5. Matthew Centrowitz (USA) 3:30.40 (’15)
6. Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya) 3:28.81 (’14)
7. Nick Willis (New Zealand) 3:29.66 (’15)
8. Ryan Gregson (Australia) 3:31.06 (’10)
9. Ayanleh Souleiman (Djibouti) 3:29.58 (’14)
10. Jakub Holusa (Czech Republic) 3:33.36 (’16)
STEEPLE
Kemboi is the consummate big-meet competitor. Only twice has he been No. 1 in the T&FN World Rankings (’09 & ’11), but he has 6 golds of the highest order: Olympics in ’04 and ’12; WC in ’09, ’11, ’13 & ’15. Don’t bet against him, even at 34… Can Jager break up a Kenyan sweep and win the first U.S. medal since ’84? With a 5–2 lifetime record against Brimin Kipruto we say yes (he’s 3–6 against Conseslus)… Don’t forget Mekhissi, a great tactical runner who won the last two OG silvers.
1. Ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya) 7:55.76 (’11)
2. Conseslus Kipruto (Kenya) 8:00.12 (’16)
3. Evan Jager (USA) 8:00.45 (’15)
4. Brimin Kipruto (Kenya) 7:53.64 (’11)
5. Mahiedine Mekhissi (France) 8:00.09 (’16)
6. John Koech (Bahrain) 8:09.62 (’16)
7. Soufiane El Bakkali (Morocco) 8:14.41 (’16)
8. Donn Cabral (USA) 8:13.37 (’15)
9. Matt Hughes (Canada) 8:11.64 (’13)
10. Tafese Soboka (Ethiopia) 8:17.75 (’16)
5000 METERS
Coming off a sub-13:00 London DL win, Farah looks primed to repeat. Ethiopia, with London ’12 silver medalist Dejen Gebremeskel slotted 2nd here, sends an impressive trio. Could Lagat, particularly if the final is slow, upset the chart at 41?
1. Mo Farah (Great Britain) 12:53.11 (’11)
2. Dejen Gebremeskel (Ethiopia) 12:46.81 (’12)
3. Muktar Edris (Ethiopia) 12:54.83 (’14)
4. Hagos Gebrhiwet (Ethiopia) 12:47.53 (’12)
5. Geoffrey Kamworor (Kenya) 12:59.98 (’16)
6. Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) 13:00.60 (’16)
7. Caleb Ndiku (Kenya) 12:59.17 (’14)
8. Isiah Koech (Kenya) 12:48.64 (’12)
9. Bernard Lagat (USA) 12:53.60 (’11)
10. Hassan Mead (USA) 13:02.80 (’14)
10,000 METERS
Slow pace or fast pace, surges or no surges, Farah has found a way to outkick everybody in all his 10Ks since his narrow loss at the ’11 Worlds. Since then he has won the WC twice and is the reigning Olympic gold medalist…
Farah’s training mate Rupp took London silver, but hasn’t been at his sharpest this year and faces an avalanche of high-end talent from Eritrea, Ethiopia & Kenya… Expect some team-tactics racing.
1. Mo Farah (Great Britain) 26:46.51 (’11)
2. Geoffrey Kamworor (Kenya) 26:52.65 (’15)
3. Yigrem Demelash (Ethiopia) 26:52.65 (’16)
4. Bedan Karoki (Kenya) 26:52.36 (’14)
5. Paul Tanui (Kenya) 26:49.41 (’14)
6. Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia) 26:57.33 (’16)
7. Galen Rupp (USA) 26:44.36 (’14)
8. Abadi Embaye (Ethiopia) 26:57.88 (’16)
9. Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) 26:37.25 (’06)
10. Aron Kifle (Eritrea) 27:26.20 (’16)
110 HURDLES
Indoor champ McLeod looked unbeatable in the early going, but then had a couple of bad races… Allen is completely devoid of international experience but brings real grit to the event… The U.S. and France could comprise three-quarters of the final… The IAAF granted Ortega’s switch in allegiance from Cuba to Spain at the last minute.
1. Omar McLeod (Jamaica) 12.97 (’15)
2. Devon Allen (USA) 13.03 (’16)
3. Dimitri Bascou (France) 13.12 (’16)
4. Ronnie Ash (USA) 12.99 (’14)
5. Orlando Ortega (Spain) 12.94 (’15)
5. Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (France) 12.95 (’14)
6. Wilhem Belocian (France) 13.28 (’15)
7. Balázs Baji (Hungary) 13.28 (’16)
8. Jeff Porter (USA) 13.08 (’12)
9. Antonio Alkana (South Africa) 13.28 (’16)
400 HURDLES
This could be a real crap-shoot, particularly since last year’s WC didn’t go remotely close to form… At 30, U.S. champ Clement has lots of hardware, though, with WC golds in ’07 and ’09, with an ’08 OG silver to go with them. What he often doesn’t have is a consistent step pattern, but he has been solid coming in… Escobar used to represent Cuba.
1. Kerron Clement (USA) 47.24 (’05)
2. Yasmani Copello Escobar (Turkey) 48.42 (’16)
3. Javier Culson (Puerto Rico) 47.72 (’10)
4. Michael Tinsley (USA) 47.70 (’13)
5. Nicholas Bett (Kenya) 47.79 (’15)
6. Kariem Hussein (Switzerland) 48.45 (’15)
7. Boniface Tumuti (Kenya) 48.29 (’15)
8. LJ van Zyl (South Africa) 47.66(A) (’11)
9. Patryk Dobek (Poland) 48.40 (’15)
10. Annsert Whyte (Jamaica) 48.58 (’14)
MARATHON
Kipchoge has won 5 in a row since ’14, and they’ve all been biggies: Rotterdam, Chicago, London, Berlin, London. That has earned him the last two No. 1s in the World Rankings and with his most recent triumph a move to No. 2 on the all-time world list. The track 5K world champ back in ’03, he rates as a solid favorite here… Biwott had a nice breakthrough in London at age 30, moving to No. 6 on the all-time list… Rupp’s PR doesn’t merit his high placing here, but that was his debut race and should be ready to race against the big boys.
1. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) 2:03:05 (’16)
2. Stanley Biwott (Kenya) 2:03:51 (’16)
3. Lemi Berhanu (Ethiopia) 2:04.33 (’16)
4. Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (Eritrea) 2:07:46 (’16)
5. Galen Rupp (USA) 2:11:12 (’16)
6. Tesfaye Abera (Ethiopia) 2:04:24 (’16)
7. Stephen Kiprotich (Uganda) 2:06:33 (’15)
8. Feyisa Lilesa (Ethiopia) 2:04:52 (’12)
9. Wesley Korir (Kenya) 2:06:13 (’12)
10. Meb Keflezighi (USA) 2:08:37 (’14)
20K WALK
López topped Wang for the world title last year, but the Chinese star—winner of London bronze 4 years ago—is 2–0 over him this year, including the win at the World Teams race… After just missing the podiums in London ’12 and Beijing ’15, Cai looks ready to move up a notch.
1. Zhen Wang (China) 1:17:36 (’12)
2. Miguel Ángel López (Spain) 1:19:14 (’15)
3. Zelin Cai (China) 1:18:47 (’12)
4. Pedro Gómez (Mexico) 1:20:39 (’16)
5. Alvaro Martin (Spain) 1:19:36 (’16)
6. Dane Bird-Smith (Australia) 1:19:38 (’16)
7. Benjamin Thorne (Canada) 1:19:55 (’16)
8. Daisuke Matsunaga (Japan) 1:18:53 (’16)
9. Caio Bonfim (Brazil) 1:20:20 (’16)
10. Eider Arévalo (Colombia) 1:19:45 (’13)
50K WALK
Reigning world champ Tóth has only losses at 3K and 5K on his seasonal record but on the eve of the Games said, “Training is going well, I was able to achieve all what was planned in the same quantity and quality as last year before Beijing.” So color him a narrow favorite over Team Worlds winner Tallent and WR holder Diniz, who also leads the yearly list… Diniz has had Olympic problems though, DNFing in Beijing and being DQed in London. He was also red-carded at the ’05 and ’11 Worlds.
1. Matej Tóth (Slovakia) 3:34:38 (’15)
2. Jared Tallent (Australia) 3:36:53 (’12)
3. Yohan Diniz (France) 3:32:33 (’14)
4. Andrés Chocho (Ecuador) 3:42:57 (’16)
5. Rafal Augustyn (Poland) 3:43:22 (’16)
6. Ihor Hlavan (Ukraine) 3:40:39 (’13)
7. Omar Zepeda (Mexico) 3:45:28 (’16)
8. Marco DeLuca (Italy) 3:44:47 (’16)
9. Teodorico Caporaso (Italy) 3:48:29 (’16)
10. José Ignacio Díaz (Spain) 3:51:10 (’16)
4 x 100
An easy call; Jamaica has not lost a WC or OG since ’07, the last time a U.S. quartet won… “They tend to panic,” Usain Bolt assessed recently when asked about Team USA, which seems to practice a lot more than Bolt & Co. admit to… Great Britain, too, had troubles (DQ then DNF) at the last two Worlds but at the London DL in July knocked out a lap of medal quality… The grapevine says Team USA will be, in order, Marvin Bracy, Justin Gatlin, Mike Rodgers & Trayvon Bromell… Note: the “PRs” listed here are the bests by the nations in 2015 or 2016.
1. Jamaica 37.36 (’15)
2. United States 37.38 (’15)
3. Great Britain 37.78 (’16)
4. France 37.88 (’15)
5. China 37.92 (’15)
6. Canada 38.03 (’15)
7. Germany 38.15 (’15)
8. Cuba 38.44 (’16)
9. Turkey 38.31 (’16)
10. Trinidad 38.32 (’15)
4 x 400
Team USA will field a strong foursome presumably anchored by LaShawn Merritt, but he could have a bit of a fatigue factor after running both the flat 200 and 400… Trinidad has 4 with sub-45 credentials, topped by Machel Cedenio… As usual, bronze will be a dogfight among some evenly matched teams… Note: the “PRs” listed here are the bests by the nations in 2015 or 2016.
1. United States 2:57.82 (’15)
2. Trinidad 2:58.20 (’15)
3. Jamaica 2:58.51 (’15)
4. Bahamas 2:58.91 (’15)
5. Great Britain 2:58.51 (’15)
6. Cuba 2:59.80 (’15)
7. Botswana 2:59.95 (’15)
8. Belgium 3:00.24 (’15)
9. Brazil 3:01.05 (’15)
10. Poland 3:00.72 (’15)
HIGH JUMP
2014 was The Year Of The High Jump, but heights fell off last year and as of yet haven’t rebounded this time around… Bondarenko and Barshim have a classic rivalry, having met 22 times, starting with the ’07 Worlds.

The Ukrainian has won both of this year’s clashes to pull back into an 11–11 tie, so we’ll give him a slight nod over the yearly world leader… Drouin and Kynard have met 30 times, with the Canadian having a 17–13 edge and a better set of heights… Surprise ’07 world champ Thomas suddenly added 2cm to his PR this year at age 32.
1. Bogdan Bondarenko (Ukraine) 2.42 | 7-11¼ (’14)
2. Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) 2.43 | 7-11¾ (’14)
3. Derek Drouin (Canada) 2.40 | 7-10½ (’14)
4. Erik Kynard (USA) 2.37 | 7-9¼ (’15)
5. Guowei Zhang (China) 2.38 | 7-9¾ (’15)
6. Donald Thomas (Bahamas) 2.37 | 7-9¼ (’16)
7. Robbie Grabarz (Great Britain) 2.37 | 7-9¼ (’12)
8. Majed El Dein Ghazal (Syria) 2.36 | 7-8¾ (’16)
9. Marco Fassinotti (Italy) 2.35 | 7-8½ (’16)
10. Konstadínos Baniótis (Greece) 2.34 | 7-8 (’13)
POLE VAULT
WR holder/defending champ Lavillenie is the favorite in every contest he enters. His consistency is a marvel… Kendricks and Barber have met a dozen times already this year and have split them 6–6, with a 4–2 outdoor edge for the American… A raucous home crowd may add some centimeters for Braz.
1. Renaud Lavillenie (France) 6.16 | 20-2½ (’14)
2. Sam Kendricks (USA) 5.92 | 19-5 (’16)
3. Shawnacy Barber (Canada) 6.00 | 19-8¼(A) (’16)
4. Thiago Braz (Brazil) 5.93 | 19-5½ (’16)
5. Raphael Holzdeppe (Germany) 5.94 | 19-5¾ (’15)
6. Konstadínos Filippídis (Greece) 5.91 | 19-4¾ (’15)
7. Pawel Wojciechowski (Poland) 5.91 | 19-4¾ (’11)
8. Kévin Menaldo (France) 5.81 | 19-¾ (’15)
9. Piotr Lisek (Poland) 5.90 | 19-4¼ (’15)
10. Jan Kudlicka (Czech Republic) 5.83 | 19-1½ (’13)
LONG JUMP
The reigning world and Olympic champion, Rutherford has confirmed his favorite’s status this year by winning 8 of 9 meets…Texas A&M alum Lapierre won silvers at last year’s WC and this year’s WIC and has a 4-meet winning streak against top American Henderson… If he’s not too tired from a long season that included a lot of sprinting, look for a possible breakthrough from Lawson, now able to concentrate on just this event.
1. Greg Rutherford (Great Britain) 8.51 | 27-11 (’14)
2. Fabrice Lapierre (Australia) 8.40 | 27-6¾ (’10)
3. Jeff Henderson (USA) 8.52 | 27-11½ (’15)
4. Jarrion Lawson (USA) 8.58 | 28-1¾ (’16)
5. Gao Xinglong (China) 8.34 | 27-4½ (’15)
6. Rushwal Samaai (South Africa) 8.38 | 27-6 (’15)
7. Mike Hartfield (USA) 8.34 | 27-4½ (’16)
8. Damar Forbes (Jamaica) 8.25 | 27-¾ (’13)
9. Wang Jianan (China) 8.25 | 27-¾ (’15)
10. Michel Tornéus (Sweden) 8.44 | 27-8¼(A) (’16)
TRIPLE JUMP
Taylor and Claye have shared the podium countless times since they first met back in ’09, with no fewer than 20 of them being 1–2s one way or the other. That includes London in ’12, Taylor getting the gold (and adding the WC gold last year)… Taylor is history’s No. 2 jumper and has a big margin over his fellow Gator alum in terms of PRs. He had a bandaged ankle in Eugene, however, and Claye came away with the win… Pichardo had a major breakthrough last year, twice jumping beyond both 59ft and 18m, but he has no meets on his résumé this year, so remains a mystery.
1. Christian Taylor (USA) 18.21 | 59-9 (’15)
2. Will Claye (USA) 17.75 | 58-3 (’14)
3. Pedro Pablo Pichardo (Cuba) 18.08 | 59-4 (’15)
4. Dong Bin (China) 17.41 | 57-1½ (’16)
5. Alexis Copello (Cuba) 17.68 | 58-¼(A) (’11)
6. Max Heß (Germany) 17.20 | 56-5¼ (’16)
7. Chris Benard (USA) 17.21 | 56-5¾ (’16)
8. Nelson Évora (Portugal) 17.74 | 58-2½ (’07)
9. Karol Hoffmann (Poland) 17.16 | 56-3¾ (’16)
10. Troy Doris (Guyana) 17.18 | 56-4½ (’16)
SHOT
It’s not unusual to see an American favored here, but it’s equally not unusual for form to be upset…

Kovacs and Walsh are the reigning world champs, outdoors and in, but the steady Storl really knows how to come through in the big ones, and as a glider, he doesn’t find himself with the foul troubles that the spinners often do… The German hasn’t been sharp of late though, and if anybody is likely to be a chart-buster we’d point a finger at Crouser, who PRed in winning the OT.
1. Joe Kovacs (USA) 22.56 | 74-0 (’15)
2. Tom Walsh (New Zealand) 21.78 | 71-5½ (’16)
3. David Storl (Germany) 22.20 | 72-10 (’15)
4. Ryan Crouser (USA) 22.11 | 72-6½ (’16)
5. Darrell Hill (USA) 21.63 | 70-11½ (’16)
6. O’Dayne Richards (Jamaica) 21.69 | 71-2 (’15)
7. Konrad Bukowiecki (Poland) 21.14 | 69-4 (’16)
8. Michal Haratyk (Poland) 21.35 | 70-½ (’16)
9. Tomasz Majewski (Poland) 21.95 | 72-0 (’09)
10. Stephen Mozia (Nigeria) 21.76 | 71-4¾ (’16)
DISCUS
With the Olympic gold and 3 World Champs wins under his belt, Robert Harting underwent knee surgery at the end of ’14 and missed all of last year, ending his record streak of No. 1 Rankings at 6… He seems to be back as his old self this year, but has split his 2 meetings with Malachowski, who ascended to the No. 1 position in the German’s absence last year… Lifetime, the head-to-head is a monstrous 54–19 in Harting’s favor… Christoph, the younger Harting, stands 6-8¾ (2.05).
1. Robert Harting (Germany) 70.66 | 231-10 (’12)
2. Piotr Malachowski (Poland) 71.84 | 235-9 (’13)
3. Philip Milanov (Belgium) 67.26 | 220-8 (’16)
4. Christoph Harting (Germany) 68.06 | 223-4 (’16)
5. Gerd Kanter (Estonia) 73.38 | 240-7 (’06)
6. Daniel Jasinski (Germany) 67.16 | 220-4 (’16)
7. Zoltán Kövágó (Hungary) 69.95 | 229-6 (’06)
8. Daniel Ståhl (Sweden) 66.92 | 219-6 (’16)
9. Mason Finley (USA) 66.72 | 218-10 (’16)
10. Fedric Dacres (Jamaica) 68.02 | 223-2 (’16)
HAMMER
It’s hard to imagine a bigger Rio favorite than Fajdek, the 2-time reigning world champion. The 27-year-old Pole has the 10 longest meets of the year and has won 29 straight the last two seasons… Pars was No. 1 in the world 2011–14, but has now lost to the Pole 11 times in a row.
1. Pawel Fajdek (Poland) 83.93 | 275-4 (’15)
2. Krisztián Pars (Hungary) 82.69 | 271-3 (’14)
3. Dilshod Nazarov (Tajikistan) 80.71 | 264-9 (’13)
4. Ivan Tikhon (Belarus) 84.51 | 277-3 (’08)
5. Wojciech Nowicki (Poland) 78.71 | 258-3 (’15)
6. Marcel Lomnicky (Slovakia) 79.16 | 259-8 (’14)
7. Wagner Domingos (Brazil) 78.63 | 257-11 (’16)
8. David Söderberg (Finland) 78.83 | 258-7 (’03)
9. Serghei Marghiev (Moldova) 78.72 | 258-3 (’15)
10. Ashraf Amjad Al-Saifi (Qatar) 78.19 | 256-6 (’16)
JAVELIN
Javelin formcharts are notoriously prone to being blown out of the water. Walcott wasn’t anywhere in our top 10 when he won the London gold, and Yego was tabbed as just No. 4 when he won last year’s Worlds… Röhler’s presumptive crown, then, could be viewed as a shaky one. But he does have the years 2 farthest meets, and 4 of 7. Still, he was only 5th at the Euro Champs in June.
1. Thomas Röhler (Germany) 91.28 | 299-6 (’16)
2. Antti Ruuskanen (Finland) 88.98 | 291-11 (’15)
3. Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad) 90.16 | 295-9 (’15)
4. Julius Yego (Kenya) 92.72 | 304-2 (’15)
5. Jakub Vadlejch (Czech Republic) 86.76 | 284-8 (’16)
6. Tero Pitkämäki (Finland) 91.53 | 300-3 (’05)
7. Johannes Vetter (Germany) 88.23 | 289-5 (’16)
8. Vitezslav Vesely (Czech Republic) 88.34 | 289-10 (’12)
9. Zigismunds Sirmais (Latvia) 86.66 | 284-4 (’16)
10. Julian Weber (Germany) 88.04 | 288-10 (’16)
DECATHLON
Eaton could find himself in a very unusual position after the first event: in 2nd-place.

With his 10.21 speed, the WR holder/defending champ usually breaks on top, but the up-and-coming Canadian busted out a 10.15 at Götzis, perhaps changing the dynamic slightly. They’re definitely the cream of the crop… The battle for bronze is wide open, but deca guru Frank Zarnowski likes Mayer best. Who are we to argue?
1. Ashton Eaton (USA) 9045 (’15)
2. Damian Warner (Canada) 8695 (’15)
3. Kevin Mayer (France) 8521 (’14)
4. Arthur Abele (Germany) 8605 (’16)
5. Leonel Suárez (Cuba) 8654 (’09)
6. Lindon Victor (Grenada) 8446 (’16)
7. Kai Kazmirek (Germany) 8471 (’14)
8. Jeremy Taiwo (USA) 8425 (’16)
9. Zach Ziemek (USA) 8413 (’16)
10. Maicel Uibo (Estonia) 8356 (’15)