Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin wins U.S. Olympic team decathlon

Spartan Nation will be represented by one of its athletics stars at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin won the U.S. Olympic team trials in the decathlon this weekend, securing a spot at the Summer Olympics in Paris.

Baldwin achieved a time of 10.85 seconds in the 100-meter race, the first event of the decathlon, on Friday.

Next up was the long jump. Baldwin achieved a distance of 7.46 meters, placing third in this discipline.

Baldwin then achieved a personal best of 16.52 meters with a throw in the shot put.

The Spartan star would then take first place in the high jump with a height of 2.13 meters.

Concluding events on Friday, Baldwin finished eighth in the 400-meter race with a time of 48.58 seconds.

The decathlon continued on Saturday with the 110-meter hurdles. Baldwin achieved a time of 13.77 seconds and took first place in this event.

Baldwin then achieved a personal best in the discus throw with a distance of 43.67 meters. He finished 10th in this discipline.

Next came the pole vault, which Baldwin finished with a height of 4.85 meters, placing fifth in this discipline.

The pole vault was followed by the javelin throw. In the penultimate discipline of the day, Baldwin achieved the best throw with a distance of 66.69 meters. With this victory, he was in first place with one discipline still to go.

The last event was the 1500 meters. Baldwin finished sixth with a time of 4:41.87. He finished the decathlon with 8,625 points, making him the best of the other 18 participants.

Baldwin’s win in the decathlon follows an epic final season with Michigan State. He broke five program records, was named to the NCAA Indoor All-America First Team and finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He decided to forgo the NCAA Outdoor Championships as he wanted to focus on his preparations for the Trials this weekend.

Baldwin dominated both indoor and outdoor track during his time as a Spartan, establishing himself as arguably the greatest athlete in the program’s history.

The last Spartan to qualify for the Olympic decathlon was Paul Terek in 2004.

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