Eaton thanks Thompson for inspiration

Ashton Eaton followed up his gold medal at London 2012 by topping the podium in Rio, equalling Roman Sebrle's Olympic record with a score of 8893 points.

Ashton Eaton became the first man to claim successive decathlon golds since Daley Thompson.

Ashton Eaton credited Daley Thompson with providing the inspiration for him to defend the Olympic decathlon title.

Eaton followed up his gold medal at London 2012 by topping the podium in Rio, equalling Roman Sebrle's Olympic record with a score of 8893 points.

In doing so, Eaton became the first man to claim successive decathlon golds since Thompson of Great Britain - the champion in 1980 and 1984.

Thompson's feat was a source of inspiration for the 28-year-old American, who revelled in the achievement.

"To win two Olympic golds in a row like Daley Thompson is very special," said Eaton.

"One day, I'm going to have to meet Daley, shake his hand and thank him for giving me something to chase after.

"Can I do three in a row? Maybe you should ask Daley."

Although he came 18th in the javelin, Eaton was pleased with how he performed in the throwing events, having come 10th in the shot put and eighth in the discus.

"My throwing has been bad in the past, but I really got after the discus and shot here," he added.

The two-time champion also light-heartedly bemoaned his failure to claim the solitary additional point that would have seen him suprass Sebrle's Olympic record.

Eaton said: "You look at 10 events, how can't there be one stinking point in there somewhere?"