Back on the Block

Olympic Games come and go, but the decathlon world record stood for eight years, until American athlete Dan O'Brien smashed it to bits last week in Talence, France. The old record, 8,847 points scored by Daley Thompson of Great Britain, had long been considered a Mount Everest of track and field. For Dan, who unexpectedly sat out the Barcelona Games after failing to qualify in the pole vault, the 44-point margin of victory had the sweet taste of comeback: "This may not have been the Olympics, but I'm really happy." Next March, indomitable Dan goes for the heptathlon record.