RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The world's greatest athlete hates being called The World's Greatest Athlete.
He hears it every time he is introduced at an event, or meets sponsors, or is paraded in front of a TV camera. But the reality is that Ashton Eaton is far too humble for such a title — he is so humble, in fact, that he hides his gold medal under his shirt when nobody is looking.
"They like me to wear it," he says sheepishly, "but I don't like to."
The two-time Olympic decathlon champion is wrapping up another round of commitments, this time for his sponsor Visa, when he sits down at an out-of-the-way table in an upscale hotel just off Copacabana Beach.