Ashton Eaton is training in Santa Barbara this spring for the fourth-straight year. (Presidio Sports Photo)
World record holder & Olympic Champion Ashton Eaton returns to Santa Barbara along with fellow Olympians for April 3-4 competition
SANTA BARBARA – The fourth annual Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational – presented by the Santa Barbara Track Club (SBTC) and Westmont College – has assembled once again one of the best multi-event fields on U.S. soil, welcoming the “World’s Greatest Athletes” to kick off their outdoor Track & Field season.
Decathlon Highlights
Returning to the American Riviera and highlighting the weekend’s festivities is Decathlon world record holder and the reigning Olympic champion, Ashton Eaton (USA) of the Oregon Track Club. Eaton will compete in select events in his first outdoor competition of the 2015 season as he gears up for the IAAF World Championships held in Beijing, China later in the year.
Also competing in the two-day Decathlon competition is Damian Warner (CAN), the 2013 IAAF World Championships bronze medalist. Warner, along with Eaton, are no strangers to Santa Barbara, spending a few weeks each spring to prepare for their outdoor track & field campaigns.
First time competitors include both the present and the future of world Decathlon competitors:
—Pascal Behrenbuch (GER), 2012 European Champion.
—Jeremy Taiwo (USA), University of Washington graduate and a member the United State’s 2013 IAAF World Championship team.
—Curtis Beach (USA), U.S. High School Decathlon record holder, 2012 NCAA Indoor Heptathlon champion.
Heptathlon Highlights
Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN), the 2013 IAAF World Championships silver medalist and 2012 Olympian returns as the top Heptathlete competing in select events over the two-day competition. Theisen-Eaton was a seven-time NCAA champion for the Oregon Ducks. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate and two-time U.S. Olympian, Sharon Day-Monroe, will also compete in select events on day one of the competition.
Santa Barbara Track Club’s own and UC Santa Barbara alumni, Barbara Nwaba, will open up her 2015 campaign as she eyes her first World Championship team later this year. Nwaba enters the season as the 2nd ranked American in the heptathlon behind Day-Monroe.
Rounding out the top four athletes is Chula Vista Olympic Training Center’s Kiani Profit who enters the season ranked fifth in the U.S. after her 2014 efforts.
POST-EVENT MIXER AT THE LAB
The SBTC welcomes the entire community to celebrate the conclusion of the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational and help kick-off the remainder of the year for all the athletes. The event will begin at 7:00pm at The LAB in the Funk Zone and have Hors d’oeuvres, drinks, music and raffles. A $10 suggested donation is encourage to help support the SBTC.
