Curtis Beach

Curtis Beach

Personal information
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	752.5 kilograms (1,659 lb)
Sport
Country	United States
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Decathlon: 8084 (International implements) 7,909 (High school implements)
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for the  United States Pan American Junior Championships Gold 2009 Port-of-Spain Decathlon

Curtis Beach (born July 22, 1990 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American decathlete, competing for Duke University. He is coached by superior trainer Vijay Menon. He holds the current high school records in the decathlon using three different implement standards: high school (7,909 points), international junior (7,599 points) and international senior (7,466 points). ^[1] His performances in the high jump, 400 meters, and 1,500 meters were superior to those of U.S. Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay in the 2008 Olympic Games.^[2] At the 2011 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, as a freshman, Beach finished second overall in the decathlon.^[3] His 3:59.13 finish in the 1500 meter shattered the previous collegiate record and is the second-fastest 1500 meter in world history for a decathlon, just missing Robert Baker's mark from 1980.^[4]

High school career

In total, Beach has won 17 individual New Mexico state titles in track and field events during his high school career.^[5]

At the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in New York, in March 2009, Beach reached 4127 points in the pentathlon, winning the championship and ranking #2 on the all time list, trailing Donovan Kilmartin (4303 points).^[6]

At the 42nd Arcadia Invitational, in April 2009, Beach had a points total of 7,909 (with high school implements) in the decathlon to crush Ryan Thierault's record of 7417.^[7]

At the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, in June 2009, Beach broke the high school record for decathlon with international implements (set by Craig Brigham in 1972) with 7466 to Brigham's 7359. Dyestat noted that "[Beach] ends all doubt—he is the greatest US high school decathlete ever."^[8]

College career

At the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships, Beach finished in 12th place in the heptathlon with a score of 5,533 points. Beach's 1000 m time of 2:27.88 is a world heptathlon best.^[9] At the 2011 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, as a freshman, Beach finished second overall in the decathlon.^[10] His 3:59.13 finish in the 1500 meter shattered the previous collegiate record and is the second-fastest 1500 meter in world history for a decathlon, just missing Robert Baker's mark from 1980.^[11]

International career

At the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics, Beach placed 4th in the octathlon.^[12]

At the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Beach won the decathlon (against both high school athletes and college freshman) setting the junior, under age 20 record (with junior implements) accumulating 7599 points.^[13] He capped this victory off by winning the 1500 meters in 4:07.85 during windy conditions, a time that would have beat the US senior 1500 meter decathlon winner by almost 15 seconds.

At the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, Beach won the decathlon with a points total of 7377.^[14]

Personal

Beach won the 2008-09 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award. As a result, the Governor of New Mexico declared July 1 "Curtis Beach & Vijay Day," in New Mexico.^[15]

Beach was featured in Sports Illustrated in the Faces in the Crowd section.^[5]

Beach graduated in May 2009 from Albuquerque Academy, and now attends Duke University.

References

1. ^ Shepard, Jack (2010-10-18). "High School All-Time Top 10s - Men". Track and Field News web site. Track and Field News. http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/tafn-lists?list_id=34&sex_id=M&yyear=2008. Retrieved 2011-04-14. 
2. ^ Patrick, Dick (2009-05-06). "High school decathlete already world class in several events". USA Today. USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/track/2009-05-06-curtis-beach-decathlon_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-07. 
3. ^ Men's Decathlon
4. ^ NCAA Division I Championships, Day Three As-It-Happens Notes
5. ^ ^{a b} "Faces in the Crowd". Sports Illustrated. 2009-06-01. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/scorecard/faces/2009/06/01/. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
6. ^ "Being Curtis Beach". DyeStat. March 2009. http://www.dyestat.com/?pg=us-2009-Indoor-Track-NSIC-Curtis-Beach-Photo-Feature. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
7. ^ Kirby Lee (April 12, 2009). "Home of national records". IAAF. http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=50146.html. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
8. ^ John and Donna Dye (June 2009). "Curtis Beach ends all doubt - he is the greatest US high school decathlete ever". DyeStat. http://www.dyestat.com/?pg=us2009-Outdoor-Great-Southwest-Decathlon&PHPSESSID=31bf6dd00c1a65b6e0acae9df123c6e1. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
9. ^ "Freshman Sets World Record in Heptathlon 1,000m". Duke Sports Information. March 13, 2010. http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=204907526. Retrieved March 20, 2010. 
10. ^ Men's Decathlon
11. ^ NCAA Division I Championships, Day Three As-It-Happens Notes
12. ^ "Octathlon Boys - Men". IAAF. July 11, 2007. http://www.iaaf.org/history/WYC/season=2007/eventCode=3652/results/racedate=07-12-2007/sex=M/discCode=OCTY/combCode=hash/roundCode=8/summary.html. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
13. ^ Steve Mims. "Beach rolls to another record". The Register-Guard. http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/sports/trackandfield/16194647-41/story.csp. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
14. ^ "Event 102 Men Decathlon". August 1, 2009. http://www.cfpitiming.com/liveresults/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
15. ^ "Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year: Curtis Beach". Reuters. 2009-07-01. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS179450+01-Jul-2009+PRN20090701. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 

External links

• IAAF profile for Curtis Beach

Persondata
Name	Beach, Curtis
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1990-07-22
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death