Chen suffers setback in opening day of decathlon

Posted Jun 30, 2009 by Bill Ward

Updated Jun 30, 2009 at 05:19 PM

Auston Chen’s hopes of reaching this year’s World Youth Championships in the decathlon were dashed Tuesday when he scratched three times in the long jump at the U.S. team trials in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Chen, who will be a senior this fall at Berkeley Prep, started the day well by winning the 100-meter dash with a personal best of 11.21 seconds, tops among the entrants in this meet for 16-17 year-olds. But in the next event, the long jump, Chen registered three fouls by jumping beyond the end of the takeoff board.

With zero points from any of the 10 events in the decathlon, an athlete has little chance of finishing among the leaders. Only the top two in the decathlon can qualify for the U.S. squad that competes in thew World Youth Championships, July 8-12 in Bressanone, Italy. Chen entered he meet as one of the favorites, having just posted a personal best of 6,473 points at the Region 4 qualifier.

“It’s a shame that happened, especially so early in the meet,” said Chen’s coach, former University of South Florida standout Jeremy Geisel. “But that’s the decathlon. What can you do? I just hope he can take something from the experience and learn from it.”

Despite the setback, Geisel says Chen will continue competing in the meet today and Wednesday.