LONDON -- In the end, after

crossed the finish line in the 1,500 meters to clinch the Olympic decathlon gold medal, he didn't celebrate.

There was no outward display of emotion, like there was at Hayward Field in the U.S. Olympic trials in June, when

and teared up on the track.

Thursday night, before a capacity crowd at 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, Eaton leaned over to his catch his breath, then straightened up to acknowledge the fans and accept congratulations from the other decathletes.

If anything, he looked tired.

This was a business trip, and Eaton got the job done.

"We came here to win, regardless of the score," said Harry Marra, Eaton's coach. "It was head-to-head competition. He came here relaxed, controlled, focused, This was like an NCAA meet for him, or one of the big meets Oregon does. He handled it well."

Eaton scored 8,869 points, well short of his world record of 9,039 and just shy of the Olympic record of 8,893 held since 2004 by Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic.

Sebrle's record was within reach, but Eaton felt his left quad give during the pole vault. He didn't push himself in the 1,500, crossing in 4 minutes, 33.59 seconds. His personal record is 4:14.48.

"That last 5.20 jump in the pole vault, my quad was talking to me," Eaton said, referring to his clearance at 17 feet, 3/4 inches. "I was like dang it ... I was fine in the javelin, fine in the '15,' but I just didn't want to vault anymore because I didn't want it to not be fine. That would have been the worst mistake ever."

Especially with the achievement of a lifetime dangling in front of him.

The decathlon comprises 10 events in a grueling, two-day test that demands speed (100 meters, 400 meters, 110 hurdles), agility (long jump, high jump, pole vault), strength (shot put, discus, javelin) and endurance (1,500 meters). The Olympic decathlon champion often is labeled the world's greatest athlete.

It's hard to oversell how far Eaton, 24, has come, or how quickly he has seized that title.

A central Oregon native, Eaton was a multisport athlete at Mountain View High School in Bend but didn't take up the decathlon until he arrived as a freshman at the University of Oregon. He won the first of three consecutive NCAA decathlon titles as a sophomore in 2008, finished second at the 2011 world championships and then set the world record early this summer.

Most observers look at his speed, athletic ability and stunning rate of improvement and believe there will be other chances to set records, and bigger scores.

"Ashton is the best athlete who ever has walked the planet," said U.S. decathlete Trey Hardee, the world champion in 2009 and 2011. "Hands down."

Hardee scored 8,671 points here and left with silver. He can see the writing on the wall.

"In a little less than six months, I'll turn 29," Hardee said. "Ashton will still be 24. I think my best decathlons are in front of me. But Ashton's are, too."

from the first event, Wednesday morning's 100, in which he set the Olympic decathlon record of 10.35 seconds. He had a 220-point lead after five events at the end of the first day.

Hardee came back hard on Thursday morning. He ran the 110 high hurdles in 13.54 seconds to Eaton's 13.56, and threw the discus almost 20 feet farther.

Eaton's advantage had melted to 99 points heading into the pole vault. But Eaton took control there.

He might still be vaulting if the quad hadn't tightened on him, forcing him to stop after having missed just once in six attempts. Hardee went out with three misses at 16-4 3/4.

Like that, with only the javelin and the 1,500 remaining, Eaton was in position to win.

"In reality, when he made the first bar in the pole vault, if the javelins hit the ground it's over," Marra said. "It's over."

Assuming Eaton stays healthy, there is no telling where this might go from here. He and Sebrle are the only two men ever to have topped 9,000 points.

Former world record-holder and 1996 gold medalist Dan O'Brien called Eaton "absolutely the best ever. That's not the last time we're going to see 9,000. Roman Sebrle did it once. I think Ashton is going to do it once a year."

As for the world record, well, Eaton is nowhere near his decathlon ceiling.

"I could see another 100 points on that world record for sure in his throwing events," O'Brien said. "I don't think he's maxing out in the high jump."

As it is, Eaton is in select company. He became the fourth athlete from the University of Oregon to win gold, following in the footsteps of Otis Davis in 1960, Mac Wilkins in 1976 and Joaquim Cruz in 1984.

In his post-competition news conference, Eaton was thrown questions about whether he was a better athlete than Usain Bolt, or whether he expected to be making Bolt-like money in the wake of his Olympic accomplishment.

"No, and I don't really do it for any of that stuff," Eaton said. "I really don't care about the riches and all those other things. It's very cool to have. I think it's good for the sport's promotion, because this clearly has changed my life -- the decathlon and athletics in general. ...

"But like I've said before, I just like doing what I'm doing."

You know, taking care of business.

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