Clay, Hardee lay framework for London sweep

DOHA, Qatar -- Attention, all of you who loved seeing the United States roar to 37 medals at the Vancouver Winter Games: Bryan Clay would like a word or two with you.

Especially if you have a few dollars.

Because he has a plan to win three medals for the United States in the decathlon at the Summer Games in London in 2012.

That's right: 1, 2, 3. Gold, silver, bronze.

But after he and Trey Hardee went 1-2 here at the 2009 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the heptathlon, the indoor track and field version of the all-around athlete test, and considering that University of Oregon senior Ashton Eaton broke Dan O'Brien's 17-year-old heptathlon world record at the NCAA indoor championships -- who wants to say that it can't be done?

"We definitely want to get together," Clay said. "For us to actually get together and get some training in -- myself, Trey, Ashton -- we're going to need some funding. That's the biggest thing.

"If we can find the funding, we'll get together and I'm telling you right now there is absolutely no reason why we cannot go 1-2-3 in a major championship meet."

USA Track & Field is aiming for 30 medals in London. Three in the decathlon would be a mighty big step toward 30.

"It sounds like a lofty goal," Clay said, "but if you look at the talent that we're producing right now, it' s unbelievable."

The last time the U.S. went 1-2-3 in the Olympic decathlon?

Not in the 1990s, when O'Brien and Dave Johnson were strong.

Not in Bruce Jenner's time or, before that, Rafer Johnson's.

You have to go all the way back to 1952, in Helsinki, when Bob Mathias, Milt Campbell and Floyd Simmons did it.

There's even more precedent. In 1936, in Berlin: Glenn Morris, Robert Clark and Jack Parker.

Obviously, a lot can happen between now and the summer of 2012; injuries and other variables can always come into play.

Such as other athletes -- among them Tom Pappas, the 2003 world decathlon champ who has struggled with injury but, at a little-noticed event in Germany, put up the fourth-best decathlon score of 2009.

Acknowledging that an American sweep would be audacious -- even so, given the weekend results, the notion cannot be dismissed outright.

Clay, the 2008 Beijing Summer Games decathlon champ, coming back from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the 2009 world championships in Berlin, won here with 6204 points.

He said afterward he's 15 pounds lighter. That's good? "That's good for me," he said.

Clay won in Doha even though he did his usual thing in the closing event, finishing dead last in the distance run -- for those familiar with the outdoor 1500-meter run, indoors it's 1000m -- and performing up to what he viewed as par in only two of the seven events, the pole vault and high jump.

So there's room yet for improvement -- which, given that these indoor championships marked his return to international competition, is to be expected. "My legs," he acknowledged afterward, "were pretty tired -- pretty fried."

Hardee won gold in 2009 in Berlin. These were his first indoor championships.

Anyone who thought his Berlin gold was somehow a fluke? Doha puts that unequivocally to rest.

Hardee and Clay have developed the friendliest of rivalries. Just after the finish of the 1000m, Clay sank to the ground, beat. Hardee extended a hand and helped him up. A moment or two after that, they two posed for the cameras, their hands high in the air together.

"I'm just happy the U.S. had a 1-2," Hardee said.

Eaton finished Day One of the NCAA indoors with 3,561 points. To compare: Clay had led Day One here, with 3,549. Eaton finished with 6,499 point, 23 more than O'Brien's standard, 295 more than Clay's score here and 315 more than Hardee's total.

You don't need to understand the incredibly complex decathlon tables to know that makes for intriguing math.

And all kinds of possibilities.

"If we're training together in the next two years," Clay said, "it's going to be out of control.

"I'm telling you -- out of control. It will be the strongest team I think the U.S. has put out in a long time -- a long, long time."