Posted: April 13, 2006

Athletics: Skujyte's Chase Of Decathlon World Record Begins Today

By Bob Ramsak
© 2006 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved

Austra Skujyte, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the heptathlon, will begin her chase of her own world record in the decathlon today at the Audrey Walton Combined Events competition in Columbia, Mo.

The 26-year-old Lithuanian set the record of 8,366 points at this competition last year, breaking the previous best of 8,150 points tallied by Marie Collonvillé of France in September 2004. The IAAF began ratifying women's world records in the event on January 1, 2005. Last August, Skujyte was fourth in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Helsinki.

The men's field includes Tom Pappas, the 2003 world champion. The 29-year-old Pappas, a 2000 Olympian, hasn't competed in a decathlon since the 2004 Olympics, where his outing was cut short by injury during the second day of competition. His 8,784 point personal best, set at the 2003 U.S. Championships, ranks Pappas as No. 9 on the all-time list among performers.

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