Heath Baldwin aims for US medal in decathlon

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EAST LANSING – Heath Baldwin will tell you that part of the allure of being a decathlete is the title at stake — as the world’s greatest athlete. No other event or sport can make such a claim. No other sport tests so many skills simultaneously as the decathlon’s ten events.

Baldwin, a Kalamazoo native and a true American at Michigan State, now gets his chance at that coveted crown — and an Olympic gold medal. Baldwin, who won the decathlon at last month’s U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon, will compete in Paris on Aug. 1-2. He should arrive in time for Friday’s opening ceremonies.

“I think it’s kind of sunk in now,” Baldwin, 23, said last week, ahead of his final workout at MSU’s Ralph Young Field before flying to Germany for final preparations for the Olympics. “When I got back to Lansing, I was just sitting in my room (and realized), ‘Oh yeah, I’m actually going to the Olympics. That’s pretty wild.’ ”

He’s not going to Paris to wave to the crowd, take it all in, and be able to say he was an Olympian — although that’s cool. He’s the No. 6 decathlon athlete in the world, the best in the U.S. at the trials, capable of putting up a score that he believes is good enough for a medal.

“I think that would be a good accomplishment for my first Olympics,” Baldwin said. “I’m pretty young. And if I can get a medal and also get some experience, I think that’s a win. But I’ve gone into every competition this year hoping to win. So I mean, the main goal is obviously to do my best to win.”

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Baldwin is no underdog story. He was a dominant track star at small school Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic High School. He then began his career at the University of Michigan, where he earned second-team All-American honors in his first full season in 2021 before his coach there left and he decided to change majors, transferring to MSU.

At East Lansing, Baldwin was a powerhouse, especially in 2023, when he was named MSU Athletics Male Athlete of the Year, broke school records in the heptathlon and decathlon, and earned first-team All-American honors in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He won the Big Ten indoor heptathlon that year and placed fifth in the decathlon at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

However, the Olympics seemed within reach after he finished second in the heptathlon at the NCAA indoor championships last winter.

“I thought, ‘OK, we have all the tools in place for what we need,'” said Richard Fisher, MSU and Baldwin’s jump coach. “It’s a matter of whether he can get on that stage for a major competition. And he did well at indoor nationals. That showed me, ‘OK, we have a real shot.'”

Baldwin also finished second in the decathlon at the famed Mt. SAC Relays, the only college athlete in the top four there. He skipped the NCAA outdoor championships in June because they were too close to the Olympic trials.

“I think if I had tried (the NCAA Championships), I wouldn’t have been as fresh as I was going into the trials,” Baldwin said. “And I probably wouldn’t have scored as well.”

At the U.S. Trials, Baldwin shook off early nerves with a personal best in the shot put, going into action with 8.625 points ahead of second-place finishers Zach Ziemek (8.516) and third-place finisher Harrison Williams (8.384), both of whom also qualified for the U.S. team. Baldwin won four of the 10 decathlons: the shot put, javelin, high jump and 110-meter hurdles. His MSU teammate Ryan Talbot, who finished eighth, won the 100-meter dash and the discus. It wasn’t enough to qualify for the Olympic team, but Talbot plans to be in Paris to cheer on Baldwin.

During the final decathlon event of the trials — the 1,500 meters — when Baldwin’s lead meant he only needed to finish the race to qualify for the Olympic team, Talbot ran with his MSU teammate down the finishing straight, writing for the MSU Today newsletter that he was “thrilled to be standing across the finish line with him to celebrate.”

For Baldwin, the hectic days that followed were about capitalizing on a moment when his star was as bright as it had ever been, by landing sponsors, including, most importantly, Nike. He’s not expecting an advertising blitz like Reebok’s famous and ill-fated “Dan and Dave” campaign in 1992, but he has a chance to build his reputation in Paris and perhaps even become a household name.

“After winning at the trials, I obviously have a lot to offer now,” Baldwin said. “So I’m trying to market that as best I can and make sure we get a good deal.”

After the Olympics, he will take a few months off for what will be his offseason, then continue his largely sponsor-driven professional career while competing in decathlons about four times a year.

First, Paris. Baldwin has already faced many of the best decathletes he will face at the Olympics, including world No. 1 Leo Neugebauer of Germany, who competed for the University of Texas and narrowly defeated Baldwin in the heptathlon at the most recent NCAA Indoor Championships.

“I think I’ll probably medal (around) an 8,700,” said Baldwin, who finished 75 points behind at the U.S. Trials. “I think I definitely can. I just have to put together a couple of good events on the day. … I don’t think I have to do dramatically better. I just have to make a few small improvements in a few different events. Just clean up my long jump a little bit. I’m sure I can run faster in the 100, 400 and 1,500. And I think there’s a lot more in the discus. So I think it’s all going to add up. And hopefully it’s more than 100 points.”

The decathlon is a grueling two-day competition at the Olympic Games. The first day, the competition starts at 10:00 and lasts until about 23:00. The next morning, it is time to be back on the track around 6:00.

“It destroys you,” Baldwin said.

It is his ability to conserve his energy, relax when possible and keep his head in the right space that has made him elite in one of the most demanding events in the sport. That, combined with talent and timing.

“Sometimes you have the wrong year and stuff. That’s where the timing aspect comes in,” said Fisher, his coach. “But the higher you go, the more important the mental side is than the physical side. And for him, it’s the drive to compete and want to get better.

“He likes to be around people who are better than him so he can rise to the occasion. That’s what sets him apart from the rest.”

Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.

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