Trey Hardee

James Edward "Trey" Hardee III is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in the Combined [track and field events|combined events]. He is a former NCAA Champion, a two-time World Outdoor Champion, a member of the United States 2008 Olympic team, and the silver medalist in the decathlon at the London 2012 Olympics.

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High school and college career

Hardee did not start out as a decathlete. He preferred basketball, and only joined the track and field team as a junior after failing to make the basketball varsity squad at Vestavia Hills High School. He was recruited to Mississippi State University as a pole vaulter. Hardee started college at Mississippi State in 2002. It was at the university that coaches, noting his combination of size and speed, pushed him toward the decathlon and the indoor heptathlon. He finished second in the decathlon at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Mississippi State dropped its indoor track and field program after the 2004 season, so Hardee transferred to the Texas at Austin|University of Texas]. In his first season at Texas, he was third in the heptathlon at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships and won the decathlon at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships. In 2006, he set the NCAA decathlon record with a then personal best 8,465 points and was named the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.

Professional career

Hardee was the runner-up in the decathlon at the 2008 US Olympic Trials and made his first Olympic team. At the Olympics, he was in 4th place through seven events when his no-height score in the pole vault cost him a chance to medal. His performances during the 2008 outdoor season garnered interest from the New York Jets of the National Football League, who offered him a tryout. However, he expressed no interest in pursuing the opportunity.
At the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Hardee won gold in the decathlon with a points total of 8790, which is his personal record. In the same year, he won the USA Outdoor championship with a score of 8,261. At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, he won a silver medal in the heptathlon by finishing behind Bryan Clay. Hardee finished with a points total of 6184, which was 20 points behind Clay. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Hardee defeated his compatriot Ashton Eaton and retained the world decathlon title with a final points tally of 8607.
In 2012, Hardee again finished second in the Olympic Trials and made a second Olympic Team. On August 9, 2012, he won the silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics behind Eaton. Hardee attempted to make a third Olympic team in 2016, but was unsuccessful due to injury. He did attend the Olympics as a television analyst for NBC Sports.

Personal bests

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Outdoor

Event	Performance	Location	Date
100 meters	10.40	Austin	April 2, 2008
100 meters	10.28	Austin	May 27, 2006
200 meters	20.98	Austin	April 22, 2006
300 meters	33.69	San Marcos	May 23, 2014
400 meters	48.13	Austin	April 21, 2012
110 meters hurdles	13.61	Austin	March 31, 2012
Long jump		Des Moines	June 27, 2010
Long jump		Austin	April 8, 2011
High jump		Austin	March 31, 2004
Pole vault		Austin	May 27, 2006
Shot put		Atlanta	May 17, 2013
Discus throw		Austin	April 14, 2012
Javelin throw		Austin	April 12, 2014

Indoor

Event	Performance	Location	Date
55 meters	6.30	Houston	January 14, 2006
60 meters	6.82	New York	February 2, 2007
400 meters	50.35	Stockholm	February 10, 2010
60 meters hurdles	7.76	Ames	February 23, 2007
Long jump		Fayetteville	March 2, 2007
High jump		New York	January 28, 2011
Pole vault		Reno	January 18, 2013
Shot put		New York	January 28, 2011

Honors and awards

In 2006, Hardee was named the NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. In 2009, he received the Jim Thorpe All-Around Award. In 2018, he was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Hall of Honor.