Chris Huffins

Chris Huffins ( born April 25, 1970 in Brooklyn ) is a former American track and field athlete, who played 33 ten fights, of which he finished 28. He won bronze at the 1999 World Championships and the Olympic Games 2000.

Career

Early years

Huffins played basketball and had been active as a sprinter and long jumper as he during his studies at the University of California turned to the decathlon. Thanks to his talent movement, he succeeded as a late starter catch up with the world class, but when it 's strengths and weaknesses were much more pronounced than in athletes who traveled in youth more combat training to operate. His first decathlon he denied in March 1992 in Tempe, he immediately reached 7531 points and won the competition. Immediately before his 22nd birthday, he improved in Azusa at 7854 points. In his third decathlon on 26 and 27 June 1992 in New Orleans, he tried to sit at the Olympic trials in the scene. After a pole vault of only 3.70 meters, 40 centimeters less than in Azusa, he reached 7662 points and 15th place

In March 1993 Huffins increased its best performance in Tucson at 7920 points. In May he won at the U.S. Championships students in New Orleans and surpassed 8007 points for the first time the 8000 -point mark, where he grew in the 1500 -meter run in 4:51,20 minutes, this time he was only once undercut, in his last decathlon in 2000. He played in the 1993 season, three more ten fights, but could not qualify for the World Championships in Stuttgart as the ninth U.S. Championships. Nevertheless, he earned his first decathlon outside the United States on German soil. In traditional countries fight the U.S. decathlete against the German decathlete Huffins was established in August 7536 in Aachen tenth with points. In the 1994 season Huffins finished no decathlon.

1995 Huffins in Sacramento with 8351 points Second in the U.S. Championships and was thus qualified for the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. In his first appearance before a large audience he had a slump in the discus throw, where he scored seven and a half meters less than in Sacramento. The course of the competition corresponded to a pattern, the Huffins ' Ten battles followed in the next few years. As an outstanding sprinter and long jumper among the ten fighters he was at the start of the race in the lead, was then overtaken by the end of the first day and dropped slowly but steadily on the second day back. In Gothenburg, he was after the first day 40 points behind the leader Dan O'Brien. At the end of the second day he had with 8193 points in eighth place 500 points behind world champion O'Brien.

Later years

In June 1996 Huffins increased its best performance in Atlanta on 8546 points, which he finished third at the U.S. Championships. In this race he ran the 100 meters 10.22 seconds, which he replaced Daley Thompson as top ten fighters of all time. Six weeks later at the Olympic Games in the same place he reached 8300 points and finished tenth. At the start of the 1997 season Huffins completed his only heptathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Paris -Bercy and was awarded 6128 points in fourth. In the outdoor season, he qualified with 8458 points as championship runner-up for the 1997 World Championships in Athens. There he broke the competition in the penultimate discipline, the Javelin, from, because he prepared an arm injury to pain. In 1998 he reached the winner of the U.S. Championships with 8694 points, the highest score of his career. At the Goodwill Games in Uniondale he was with 8576 points, second behind Dan O'Brien.

1999 Huffins won with 8350 points, his second championship title. Exactly one month later, he won with 8170 points at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg. Another month later, took place the 1999 World Championships in Seville. Huffins went once more in the lead, but after the first day was only in third place behind the Czech Tomáš Dvořák and the British Dean Macey, just behind Huffins was the Estonian Erki Nool. In contrast to his previous ten fights Huffins fell on the second day back only to Tomáš Dvořák, while each more points collected in the first four disciplines of the second day as Macey. In the pole vault to Nool made ​​a somersault Nullo, Dvořák and Macey crossed 4.60 meters and 4.80 meters Huffins reach. Before the final 1500 -meter run Huffins was in second place on 140 points ahead of Macey, on the other hand was Huffins weakness in the 1500 meter race known. Although Huffins with 4:53,83 seconds was the third fastest time of his career, caught him Macey at nine points. With 8547 points Huffins but won the bronze medal just ahead of Frenchman Sébastien Levicq.

At the U.S. Olympic trials 2000 Huffins qualified in second place with 8285 points. At the Olympic Games in Sydney Huffins went once more from the beginning in the lead. At the end of the first competition day Huffins led with 4554 points and eight points ahead of Dean Macey, behind it lay Erki Nool, the American Tom Pappas and Czech Roman Šebrle. As a good hurdler and above all as the best discus thrower competing Huffins extended its lead even more. In the pole vault with 4.70 meters Huffins was the weakest of the medal contenders, and also in the javelin he was far behind its competitors. The decision was made in the 1500 -meter run, in the Huffins grew beyond himself and his previous best performance to undercut nearly thirteen seconds. So he could only beat Pappas of the medal contenders, but with 8595 points Huffins won the bronze medal. He was 46 points behind Nool and 11 points behind Šebrle, but 28 points ahead of Dean Macey.

After this contest ended at a height of 1.85 m in the competition 86 kg heavy Huffins his career. Since the end of his sporting career Huffins has worked as a trainer.

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