The 2017 Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational held on Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8, once again will showcase incredible global Track & Field talent. The two-day Decathlon and Heptathlon is held at Westmont College in the Santa Barbara foothills. In addition to the weekend festivities the Santa Barbara Track Club will host two youth events:
- Wednesday, April 5: FREE Youth T&F Clinic
- Saturday, April 8: Youth Tri-Challenge & Mile Run
Olympic High Jump, Derek Drouin Debuts in the Decathlon
Highlighting the competition will be the reigning Olympic and World Championship High Jump champion, Derek Drouin (CAN), who is making his debut in the Decathlon at Sam Adams. Drouin became only the 10th man in history in 2014 to clear a height of 2.40m / 7'10", setting a Canadian record. A graduate of Indiana University, he is also the only NCAA High Jumper to win 5 NCAA championships.
Drouin is competing in his first Decathlon and one event to look for is the High Jump on Friday, tentatively scheduled for 4:00pm. The current Decathlon record is 2.27m / 7'5.25". In order for an event record to be set, the Decathlete must finish all 10 events scoring 7,000pts or more.
Note that in a combined events competition the schedule may fluctuate and we recommend arriving 60-90mins. prior to a particular event that you would like to watch.
ADDITIONAL NOTABLE ATHLETES
Austin Bahner (USA / Shocker Track Club) - 4x Team USA athlete, USA Indoor Championships Heptathlon Runner-Up
Thomas FitzSimons, Jr. (USA / ABEO Santa Barbara Track Club) - 2016 & 2015 Sam Adams Invite Champion, 2014 U.S. Decathlon Bronze Medalist
Lindsay Schwartz (USA / ABEO Santa Barbara Track Club) - 2016 & 2014 Sam Adams Invite Champion, 2015 Thorpe Cup Bronze Medalist, 2015 Pan American Silver Medalist
Angela Whyte (CAN) - 2x Canadian Olympic team member