World record holder & Olympic Champion Ashton Eaton highlights the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational week of events; free Youth Challenge on April 2 at Westmont College
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The world’s greatest athletes have once again descended upon Santa Barbara for the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational presented by the Santa Barbara Track Club (SBTC) and Westmont College on April 4 and 5. The men will compete in the decathlon and women in the heptathlon, which comprise of ten and seven Track & Field disciplines respectively. Champions of these two events are widely considered the “World’s Greatest Athletes”.
Assembling one of the most accomplished decathlon and heptathlon fields on U.S. soil, the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational features 2012 Olympic champion and world record holder, Ashton Eaton (USA), IAAF World Championship medalists Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN) and Damian Warner (CAN), three time European Champion, Antoinette Nana Djimou Ida (FRA), 2010 European Champion, Romain Barras (FRA), and 2013 U.S. Indoor Champions Sharon Day (USA) and Gray Horn (USA). The Sam Adams Invite will also feature the 2011 High Jump World Champion, Jesse Williams (USA), competing as a guest athlete along with universities from around the country.
“The SBTC and Westmont College are truly humbled by the caliber of competition we have the privilege of hosting at the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational,” commented Josh Priester, Executive Director of the SBTC and Assistant Coach at Westmont College. “Support by Westmont and the Santa Barbara community have allowed us to elevate the week of events to an international level.”
Winners of the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational will be invited to compete at the June 14 and 15 Oyo Decathlon & Heptathlon Meeting in Oyonnax, France hosted by the athletics club, L'Union Sportive Athletisme Haut Bugey. The French club brought a delegation of 27 athletes and coaches to participate in the SBTC’s ongoing international training camp, which brings together athletes and coaches from all over the world in an environment of shared knowledge and cultural exchange. Athletes from Brazil, Canada, France, United States and Zimbabwe are represented.
In addition to the Sam Adams Invite, on Wednesday, April 2 at 4:30pm the Santa Barbara Track Club is organizing its second annual Santa Barbara Youth Challenge to see who will be named Santa Barbara’s ‘Greatest Kid’. The challenge consists of a coaching clinic with Eaton and other professionals and is followed by a run, jump and throw competition. The Youth Challenge is a FREE event for children ages 7-12, which is made possible by a generous Santa Barbara Athletic Association grant.
About the Santa Barbara Track Club
The Santa Barbara Track Club aims to create a progressive and cohesive Track & Field experience for members of our community from youth to masters as well as the development of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls alike. The professional athletes are composed of combined events athletes and middle distance athletes who also work within the community by serving as coaches and mentors to youth. The coaching and personal training efforts of the athletes help to fund the continued growth of Santa Barbara as an international training hub as well as to promote cultural exchange and shared education.