Four years ago at this time, Ashton Eaton already had secured his spot on Team USA in record-breaking fashion at the 2012 Olympic Trials. In the ensuing weeks in London, the world watched him convincingly take home the gold medal in the decathlon, beating teammate Trey Hardee and others, despite not registering his best performance to date.
He hasn’t finished outside of first place in any major competition since. Yet, despite being dominant on pretty much any track he touches, Eaton still feels nerves heading into the decathlon competition at the U.S. Olympic Trials starting Saturday in Eugene, Ore.