Ashton Eaton of United States wins decathlon title at worlds; adds to his Olympic gold medal

MOSCOW — Ashton Eaton of the United States won the decathlon world championship title on Sunday to add to his Olympic gold medal.

He completed his collection with a season-leading total of 8,809 points in a 10-event competition many consider the toughest.

"It feels good. It was the last thing I had left on my list to do," said Eaton, who rallied after a relatively sub-par first half of the two-day competition. "Now I've done everything there is to do in multi-events."

Michael Schrader of Germany won the silver medal with 8,670 points in his first major championship since the 2008 Beijing Olympics after an injury-plagued career. Damian Warner of Canada earned the bronze with 8,512 points.

Both Schrader and Warner recorded personal bests and won their first major medals.

Two-time defending champion Trey Hardee dropped out Saturday with a hamstring injury after the high jump. The United States won its fifth decathlon world title in the last six competitions, and third straight.

When the event began Saturday, Eaton struggled in the high jump before finishing Day 1 with a slim nine-point lead.

In the final event of the first day, Eaton clocked 46.02 seconds in the 400 — the fastest time at that distance in a decathlon at the world championships — and regained the lead for good.

On Sunday morning, he improved it by running the fastest time of 13.72 seconds in the 110 hurdles despite clipping the second hurdle.

Eaton knew he had sealed the title when he had a solid pole vault of 17 feet, 3-4 inches and then threw 212-8 in the javelin, the penultimate of the 10 events.

After cruising home in the 1,500 meters, he draped himself in an American flag and congratulated his competitors, a tradition in one of the most demanding events in sports.

"It's just good to finish with the decathlon guys, they are a great group of guys, anywhere we compete, whether it's the world champs or the Olympics," Eaton said. "It's just great to finish with them."

The American came to Moscow at 13th on the world list, with a season-best of 8,291 points for the title at the U.S. nationals.