Aug. 24, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - Tiger sophomore and Norwegian Hans Uldal finished competition in the Olympic Games decathlon on Tuesday. Uldal, the only American collegian in the event, scored 7,495 points and finished 27th of the 39 competitors. Nine decathletes did not finish the two-day quest. Uldal finished the day with a season best in the final event, the 1500-meter run. Uldal posted normal scores throughout the day's events with the exception of a below-average discus throw and an above-average score in the 1500 meters. His time to end the day in the 1500 was 4:41.70, eclipsing his previous season best in the event, made at the Big 12 Championships. However, Uldal's biggest scoring event was the pole vault, where he earned 760 points, leaping 14 feet, 9 inches (4.50m) Earlier this season, Uldal finished second at the Big 12 Championships in late April and fifth in the NCAA Championships, earning the first All-America honor by a Missouri decathlete. Uldal scored a personal best and school record at the Norwegian Championships three weeks ago to qualify for these Olympic Games. The field overall was highly competitive, World Record Holder Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic won the decathlon with an Olympic-record score of 8,893 points. American Bryan Clay took the silver with 8,820. Dmitriy Karpov of Kazakhstan earned the bronze medal with an Asian-record score of 8,725. Tomorrow, Tiger post-collegian Derrick Peterson will take to the track, representing the United States in the 800-meter run in the quarterfinal round at 1:00 p.m., central. Coverage of the Olympic Track & Field meet can be found on NBC throughout the week. After eight months, today now marks the official end of the Missouri Track & Field collegiate season. Cross country season will get underway on the 11th of September with the Missouri Cross Country Challenge. For more coverage of Missouri Track & Field, visit mutigers.com.