Intent to 'Score Something Big,' Decathlete Harrison Williams Returns to Eugene For Olympic Trials

As the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field kick-off on Friday morning, June 21, reigning U.S. decathlon champion Harrison Williams will step into the blocks with unfinished business to address.

Fierce competition will ensue as the high-stakes, pressure-packed, eight-day meet opens with the men’s decathlon 100-meters at 10 a.m. that morning. Williams – currently ranked No. 8 in the world in the grueling two-day event – is determined to get off to a blazing start one-year after running, jumping and throwing his personal best decathlon score of 8,630 points on the venerable Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

At stake for the experienced 28-year-old, two-time U.S. world championship team member is a first trip to the Olympic Games. The top three finishers in each event will punch their ticket to Paris.

“I’ve always wanted to make the Olympic team since I was about 13 or 14-years-old – so coming close was tough, but it showed me that I have the potential to get there,” Williams tells Team USA, referring to a missed opportunity at the Olympic trials for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. “I’ve definitely used it as motivation this year, not going to let it happen again.”

Williams ruptured his plantar fascia during the pole vault the last time around at U.S. Olympic Trials, and missed qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team. He persevered in pain over the final two events, but came up a tad short, finishing fourth.

“That was the toughest part of my career – the month after that knowing that I could have been there,” said the veteran decathlete. “It was certainly frustrating, I mourned it a little bit and then used it as motivation. Quitting never crossed my mind.”

Hoping to conjure similar magic in Eugene, as in July 2023, Williams reflected upon the magnitude of winning his first national title at TrackTown USA.

“It was a big deal and it really boosted my confidence proving myself against the best,” Williams said. “I didn’t have any huge marks or even win a single event, but the key was consistency across the board.”

Despite the confidence and wisdom, there are nagging injuries for Williams to cope with, typical for decathletes considering the unforgiving nature of the rigorous two-day competition. He recently recovered from a twisted ankle sustained in the opening 60m event of the pentathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, in March. 

“This year has been pretty tough for me – I’ve had a lot of injuries throughout training,” Williams said. “You always think an Olympic year is going to be perfect – it’s kind of been the opposite for me with injury after injury. 

“I finally started feeling good about five weeks ago and have gotten in some productive weeks of training,” said the Memphis, Tennessee native, who regularly perfects his craft at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.

“I’m feeling ready to score something big,” he added.

Williams’ national title last season earned him a spot on his second world championship team. He proceeded to tally 8,500 points and finished seventh at the 2023 world championships – his best performance on the senior international stage

Williams excelled in the 400m, fourth among the field with a time of 46.52 seconds, and then topped that on day two with the highest pole vault at 5.30m/17ft 4 1/2in. He ran to another fourth place showing in the closing 1500m, clocking a personal best time of 4:22.69. Better results in the javelin and high jump might have propelled Williams among the medalists.

“For me, big improvements can come in the javelin – it has been one of my weaker events, but I’ve been pretty consistent this year,” Williams said. “It’s really about getting a little bit better across every event. A five-to-ten percent increase across every event will get you the big scores. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

His return to top form last season is particularly impressive as he sat out the 2022 outdoor season after undergoing a complex left hip surgery at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado.

“The surgery was great and the hip feels great,” Williams said. “I had a big breakout in 2023 and I’ve used that as momentum into this year.” 

Worthy challengers to Williams in Eugene include two-time Olympian and world championship bronze medalist Zach Ziemek, 31; Heath Baldwin, 23, who owns the top U.S. score of 8,470 points this season; Budapest 2023 world championship teammate Kyle Garland, 24, who boasts a career best of 8,720; and fellow veteran and 2019 national champion Devon Williams.

“Rain or shine, I’ll never bet against Zach and he is always someone to keep track of,” Williams says. “Obviously, Kyle has huge potential and can be a force in the decathlon. And then Heath, the young guy coming up – it’s cool to see him set the standard this year.”

Asked what it will take to qualify for the three-member U.S. team for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Williams replied: “You don’t have to do anything crazy – the key is just to stay consistent across every event. 

“There’s a lot of guys who can get into the top three, so it’s going to be a really fun decathlon.”

Williams is certainly keen on the long and storied American tradition in the decathlon, which dates to multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe becoming the first U.S. gold medalist at the Olympic Games Stockholm 1912.

Thorpe paved the way, but 11 additional American decathletes have achieved Olympic gold. Fifteen of 25 Olympic decathlons (60%) have been won by U.S. athletes. Bob Mathias (1948 & 1952) and Ashton Eaton (2012 & 2016) are the only two members of the esteemed group who succeeded bringing home consecutive Olympic titles.

Interestingly, Williams is forever linked with Mathias – who rose to prominence outside of track and field becoming a national hero, politician, actor and sporting leader. Both Stanford University alumni, Williams broke Mathias’ 63-year university record as a freshman in 2015. Mathias had set the mark, also a world record, scoring 7,887 points at the Olympic Games Helsinki 1952.

“Breaking Mathias’ record was cool – unfortunately, I never got to meet him,” Williams said. “Learning about his history and the man that he became after the decathlon was so impressive.

“I just love the history of the decathlon, but I really only remember as far as Bryan (Clay) and Dan (O’Brien).”

Williams other major breakthrough performance came at the Pan American Games U20 Athletic Championships 2015 in Edmonton, Canada, when he not only struck gold, but also eclipsed the 8,000 point barrier for the first time.

“It was a huge confidence boost getting that 8,039 score as it really opened the floodgates showing me what I could achieve,” he said.