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Baldwin Finishes 10th in Decathlon at Paris Olympics
8/3/2024 4:56:00 PM | Track and Field
East Lansing, Mich. - Former Michigan State track & field athlete Heath Baldwin finished 10th in the decathlon on Saturday in the Paris Olympics, ending with 8,422 points.
Norway's Markus Rooth earned the gold medal with 8,796 points, while Germany's Leo Neugebauer took silver with 8,748 points. Grenada's Victor London finished third with 8,711 points for the bronze.
The 10th-place finish by Baldwin is the best finish ever by a Spartan in the decathlon, bettering MSU great Paul Terek, who finished 21st in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Baldwin's day one of the decathlon was highlighted by winning the high jump with his personal-best 2.17m height to earn 963 points.
The Spartan started his first Olympics with the 100m, finishing 19th (10.91) for 881 points. Moving to the long jump for the second event of the day, Baldwin was 11th (7.38m) for 905 points, then finishing 12th the shot put, event three of the day, with a mark of 14.48m for 758 points. After his winning height in the high jump in the fourth event, Baldwin wrapped up the first half of events and the opening day of action by finishing 17th in the 400m (49.04) for 859 points.Â
Day two of the decathlon started with the 110 hurdles where Baldwin finished sixth with a time of 14.04 for 969 points. As the competitors moved to discus, Â Baldwin earned 739 points with a top throw of 43.66. In the pole vault, he finished 15th with a vault of 4.70m to add on 819 points.
The Kalamazoo, Michigan native moved up to eighth-place in the overall standings after a strong showing in the javelin, finishing fifth with a throw of 67.59. To round out the grueling event, Baldwin ran 4:40.67 in the 1500m to finish 13th, sealing the top finish for a Spartan decathlete in the Olympics.
Baldwin was one of two former Spartans competing in the Paris Olympics, joined by Tori Franklin in the triple jump, who finished 14th with a distance of 14.02m.
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Norway's Markus Rooth earned the gold medal with 8,796 points, while Germany's Leo Neugebauer took silver with 8,748 points. Grenada's Victor London finished third with 8,711 points for the bronze.
The 10th-place finish by Baldwin is the best finish ever by a Spartan in the decathlon, bettering MSU great Paul Terek, who finished 21st in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Baldwin's day one of the decathlon was highlighted by winning the high jump with his personal-best 2.17m height to earn 963 points.
The Spartan started his first Olympics with the 100m, finishing 19th (10.91) for 881 points. Moving to the long jump for the second event of the day, Baldwin was 11th (7.38m) for 905 points, then finishing 12th the shot put, event three of the day, with a mark of 14.48m for 758 points. After his winning height in the high jump in the fourth event, Baldwin wrapped up the first half of events and the opening day of action by finishing 17th in the 400m (49.04) for 859 points.Â
Day two of the decathlon started with the 110 hurdles where Baldwin finished sixth with a time of 14.04 for 969 points. As the competitors moved to discus, Â Baldwin earned 739 points with a top throw of 43.66. In the pole vault, he finished 15th with a vault of 4.70m to add on 819 points.
The Kalamazoo, Michigan native moved up to eighth-place in the overall standings after a strong showing in the javelin, finishing fifth with a throw of 67.59. To round out the grueling event, Baldwin ran 4:40.67 in the 1500m to finish 13th, sealing the top finish for a Spartan decathlete in the Olympics.
Baldwin was one of two former Spartans competing in the Paris Olympics, joined by Tori Franklin in the triple jump, who finished 14th with a distance of 14.02m.
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