Aug. 6, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou track and field senior Nick Adcock (Kansas City, Mo.) will represent the United States in the 17th annual Thorpe Cup in Marburg, Germany, this weekend (August 7-8) as the competition pits the top American decathletes against the top German decathletes. This is the second-straight season that Adcock will represent the Americans at the meet as he helped Team USA to an event title in 2009.
The two-day meet will begin Saturday (August 7) as the 100m dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m dash will all be contested. The meet will conclude on Sunday (August 8) with the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500m run.
Adcock will join Americans Mat Clark (Northern Iowa, 2009), Joe Detmer (Wisconsin, 07), Mark Jellison (UConn, 2003), Chris Helwick (Tennessee, 2007), Miller Moss (Clemson) and Trinity Otto (Texas A&M). Of the seven American decathletes, Adcock, Detmer and Helwick have all been on winning Thorpe Cup teams in the past. Adcock was on the 2009 team that claimed the event title. The United States leads the overall series with the Germans, 13-3, and is currently riding a seven-year winning streak. Dan Steele of Northern Iowa will serve as the coach for the American team.
In looking at the lifetime and season-bests of each of the participants, the United States appears to have the advantage over the Germans as two Americans - Helwick and Detmer - have posted lifetime bests better than 8,000 points. No German entry has eclipsed the 8,000-point mark in their careers. Adcock owns the seventh-best 2010 mark among all 15 competitors at 7,704, which he set while winning the Big 12 decathlon title back in May.
Adcock is coming off of a very impressive senior season that saw him become the only athlete ever to sweep the Big 12 Indoor Heptathlon and Big 12 Outdoor Decathlon titles in the same season. He was also named USTFCCCA Indoor Midwest Regional Field Athlete of the Year and finished as an All-American during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. In fact, Adcock is the only athlete under the direction of head coach Rick McGuire that qualified for at least five NCAA Championships in his career and finished no lower than fifth at each of those respective championships. Not even any of McGuire's Olympians accomplished that feat.
For all the latest on Adcock's competition at the Thorpe Cup, be sure to stay tuned to MUTigers.com.
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