Eaton succesfully defends decathlon gold

Ashton Eaton topped the podium at London 2012 and did so again in Brazil with a total of 8893 points, equalling the Olympic record set by Roman Sebrle at Athens 2004.

Ashton Eaton of the USA celebrates after winning the decathlon event.

Ashton Eaton became the first man to successfully defend the Olympic decathlon title since 1984 by taking gold at Rio 2016.

Eaton topped the podium at London 2012 and did so again in Brazil with a total of 8893 points, equalling the Olympic record set by Roman Sebrle at Athens 2004 and replicating the feat last achieved by Daley Thompson of Great Britain. The world record holder positioned himself well after the first five events on Wednesday, and finished ahead of nearest rival Kevin Mayer (8834 points) in the concluding 1500 metres to seal his victory.

Eaton got his defence off to an encouraging start, finishing second in the 100m with a time of 10.46 seconds before moving to the top of the leaderboard courtesy of a 7.94m long jump. After solid efforts in the shot put and high jump, an impressive 400m display where he clocked 46.07secs ensured Eaton held a 121-point overnight advantage over Kai Kazmirek.

The American also began Thursday positively in the 110m hurdles, but Mayer ran him all the way through superior scores in the discus, pole vault and javelin. Still, Eaton took a 44-point lead over Mayer into the 1500m and made sure of retaining his gold by crossing the line over two seconds ahead of his rival.

Mayer's score of 8834 points set a new French record and has only been bettered by five other athletes, including Eaton and Thompson.

Bronze went to Damian Warner after he overtook Kazmirek on Thursday, the fastest time in the 110m hurdles key to the Canadian's place on the podium.