Bo Jackson Decathlon

"Jackson also lettered in track and field in 1983 and 1984, qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60-yard dash both seasons. His best time of 6.18 seconds..."

I know he was a good Long Jumper too.

Bo ran 1500m? He ran for less than 100 yds in Knoxville in 1985.

The 1984 100m 10.39 is a college mark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Jackson

Bo Jackson's (1982?) high school decathlon event stats:

100y 9.7

discus 150+'

shot put 50+'

__y? hurdles 12.9

pole vault 12'6"

Other high school track marks:

(indoor) high jump 6'9" (still the 5A state record)

triple jump 48'8" (state record in 1982)

He did not set the state decathlon record,

which was 9026 under the old scoring system through 1984.

He won with scores of 8304 in 1982 and 8340 in 1981:

http://www.ahsaa.com/Sports/TrackField/History/PastStateBoysChampions/tabid/795/Default.aspx

Bo skipped the mile, as he already had a 1700 point lead.

He ran the mile in the decathlon as a high school freshman and sophomore and struggled after the first lap. He placed 10th of 200 in the decathlon in 9th grade. In 10th grade, he got 2nd overall.

(Source: ESPN interview

http://sports.espn.go.com/sportsnation/feature/index?page=greatestofalltime

)

Source: 1988 Los Angeles Times article, with quotes from his high school track coach.

http://articles.latimes.com/1988-03-30/sports/sp-136_1_bo-jackson/3

"The last event was the mile," said Atchison, who was also the track coach. "You can imagine him, 218 pounds and built like that. Anything over 400 yards and he's ready to cash it in.

"He asked me, 'Coach, if I'm so far ahead nobody can catch me, do I have to run the mile?'

"I said, 'If you're that far ahead, you don't have to run, but we better wait and see. There's some pretty good guys.'

"And I mean, the guy--he ran a 9.7 100 yards. That was the max. If you ran 9.8, you got 1,000 points.

"He threw the discus over 150 feet. That was the max. He threw the shot over 50 feet. That was the max. He triple-jumped over 44 feet. That was the max. He ran the hurdles in 12.9, and I think 13 was the max.

"We didn't even have a track at our high school. We have no pits or anything, and you have to pole vault in the decathlon. We couldn't even find anyone to loan us a pole because most poles aren't made for someone who weighs 218 pounds.

"Another high school let us borrow one, a pole for a 180-pounder. Bo used that and pole vaulted 12-6--and never touched a pole until the day he walked out on the track. I really didn't know if it would hold him up or not.

"But again, after about three tries, he looked like he'd been pole vaulting all his life. Bo's the kind of guy, he can watch somebody do something and do it.

"We said a lot of crazy stuff when he was at Auburn. We really never felt like he'd turned it loose. A lot of times, it looked like he was holding back, as far as making cuts and doing little things that we'd seen him do in high school.

"I don't know if Bo has ever played to his potential. That sounds crazy, a guy who's gone to L.A. and has gotten over 200 yards rushing in a game. But he only does what he has to do.

"I can remember his senior year in high school, we went to the state track meet. The state record in the triple jump was 44 feet. Bo had jumped 44 during the season, but this was the state meet. Well, with only one jump left, a kid from Fayette goes 47-8. Everybody in the stands is going, 'Oh, that record will never be broken. That's over 3 feet longer than the old record.'

"Bo had one jump left. I'm sitting there with my assistant coaches, and he goes after this kid--and he goes 48-8. And I mean, you knew when he was sitting in the pit he had broken it. That's what I mean. Had that kid jumped 48 feet, Bo might have gone 49.

"I saw Bo his senior year in high school high jump 6-9 indoors. He still holds the indoor record. Two hundred eighteen pounds and he high jumps 6-9?

Another source is a 1984 article in Sports Illustrated

http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122522/2/index.htm

In high school Jackson did things like twist his ankle while winning the state title in the triple jump (48'8¼") and then come back the same day to set a state record (9.54) in the 100-yard dash; like throw a discus 149 feet without spinning his body, because he'd never been taught the proper form; like win the state decathlon crown his junior and senior years without running the mile, the final event, because "distance is the only thing I hate about track."

...

Last spring he gave up baseball to concentrate on track, but quit at midseason, partly because his best time in the 100 meters, a 10.39 at the Florida Relays in March, wasn't good enough to qualify him for the Olympic trials, and partly because the demands of being a Heisman hopeful—interviews, addressing school kids and the like—took up too much time. "He didn't come to Auburn to run track," says Dye, who doubles as athletic director.

[He did run indoor track in 1983 and 1984 at Auburn, the 60m dash in 6.18].

I know that Bo Jackson was an incredible athlete, but some of the coach's claims are difficult to believe. It is hard to believe that the state triple jump record was only 44 feet in the early 1980s. Also, a pole vault of 12'6" without any prior training and on only his third attempt is also hard to believe.

Double Dog wrote:

I know that Bo Jackson was an incredible athlete, but some of the coach's claims are difficult to believe. It is hard to believe that the state triple jump record was only 44 feet in the early 1980s. Also, a pole vault of 12'6" without any prior training and on only his third attempt is also hard to believe.

In my opinion, he's the greatest athlete of my lifetime.

Bo Jackson is a fukking prick in person.

Double Dog wrote:

Also, a pole vault of 12'6" without any prior training and on only his third attempt is also hard to believe.

this is pretty much verified. dudes a baller

Surprise! wrote:

Double Dog wrote:

I know that Bo Jackson was an incredible athlete, but some of the coach's claims are difficult to believe. It is hard to believe that the state triple jump record was only 44 feet in the early 1980s. Also, a pole vault of 12'6" without any prior training and on only his third attempt is also hard to believe.

In my opinion, he's the greatest athlete of my lifetime.

I would have to agree. I was at Georgia when he was at Auburn and saw him play football and baseball against my Dogs. Hit a baseball so far I think it hit Sandra Bullock in space.

when I was 13 or so, my oldest brother was a student at Auburn when Bo Jackson played there. walking by the football practice fields on a weekend visit we spotted him doing sprints by himself. I'll never forget how ridiculously jacked he was, not to mention fast. Looked like the incredible hulk.

Catch the 30 for 30 from ESPN about him. It is great at telling about his amazing feats and also the cool animation!

Vol fan wrote:

Bo ran 1500m? He ran for less than 100 yds in Knoxville in 1985.

And today Nick Marshall ran 214 yards in Knoxville. Ain't that something Vol Fan?

"I saw Bo his senior year in high school high jump 6-9 indoors. He still holds the indoor record. Two hundred eighteen pounds and he high jumps 6-9?"

A specimen.

Track is a sport where fact and fiction - legend and myth - get intertwined. Bo Jackson was a great football player and a very good baseball player - .250 career hitter. But Nike ads made his fans think he was a sports god. He had weaknesses like any other athlete. The decathlon - which Bo did in high school - exposes your weaknesses in a flash. Bo won his state title in the decathlon - with a very mediocre score. He wasn't nationally ranked among high schoolers. People also say he was a 'world class sprinter". Let's say "collegiately competitive" - that's more accurate. He ran 10.44 and 10.39 (wind-aided) - he didn't qualify for the Olympic Trials - he did qualify for NCAA's, but couldn't make the finals. Some guys who were super fast football players couldn't make it in track - D Sanders, Rocket Ismael, etc....these guys ran college track and got smoked...great acceleration but can't hold their speed. Bo was a great athlete - lots of injuries in college and pro days - but let's stick to reality and not myth. Everyone with a PC can quickly look up these facts and see what I'm talking about - but please don't take for truth wikipedia - says Bo scored 8,340 in decathlon - off by about 2000 pts !!! Crap! Like a lot of football players Bo was scared s-less of the pole vault.

stat-FOOL - you def got the second part right - where in the h*** do you dig up your 'stats"? Are you insane?? By the way, FOOL, you don't have the option of "skipping an event" in the decathlon - you have to complete all ten or you get DQ'd. Go to Track and Field News or some other credible source - Bo didn't even score 7000 pts - on any scoring table - the 1962 or the 1985 tables. You're either a moron or a liar.

Show some sources instead of blathering like a moron.

old runner dude wrote:

when I was 13 or so, my oldest brother was a student at Auburn when Bo Jackson played there. walking by the football practice fields on a weekend visit we spotted him doing sprints by himself. I'll never forget how ridiculously jacked he was, not to mention fast. Looked like the incredible hulk.

Everyone looks big and fast to a 13 year old.

I don't think so. When Bo was in college he looked jacked to anybody on the planet. This place is hysterical. Only here would people diminish the abilities of Bo Jackson.

The triple jump is in the Decathalon ?