Chris Huffins

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Chris Huffins
Personal information
Full nameChristopher Allen Huffins[1]
Born (1970-04-15) April 15, 1970 (age 54)[1][2]
Brooklyn, New York[1][2]
Height6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (189 cm)[1][2]
Weight185 lb (84 kg)[1][2]
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney Decathlon
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Seville Decathlon
Goodwill Games
Silver medal – second place 1998 New York City Decathlon
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1999 Winnipeg Decathlon
USA Championships
Silver medal – second place 1995 Decathlon
Silver medal – second place 1997 Decathlon
Gold medal – first place 1998 Decathlon
Gold medal – first place 1999 Decathlon
U.S. Olympic Trials
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Decathlon
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 1993 Decathlon

Chris Huffins (born April 15, 1970) is an athlete from the United States who competed in the field of Decathlon. He was the Director and Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country programs at the University of California from 2002 to 2007. He married Monique Parker in 1997 with whom he had one son Zachary. He earned a degree from the University of California in Political Economies of Industrial Societies in 2007. Huffins is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He is currently married to Tamika Huffins with whom he had another son, Jaxon.

Athletic career

Chris Huffins first became interested in decathlon while a student at the University of California. Sidelined with a broken toe, he watched other students performing decathlon and decided that that was the sport for him. Before becoming a decathlete, Chris Huffins was also a basketball player, sprinter, and long jumper.

As a decathlete, Huffins acquired a reputation as a fast starter but a slow finisher, prone to surging ahead on the first day of the competition, but fading on the second day. Huffins denied this accusation, saying that it was an accident of ordering because his two weakest events (javelin, 1500m run) happened to be the final two events of the decathlon.[3]

2000 Sydney Olympics

Leading into the Sydney Games, Huffins established himself as one of the best decathletes in the world. In 1998, he finished second in the Goodwill Games, and in 1999, Huffins won the Pan American Games and finished third at the 1999 World Championships in the decathlon. At the 2000 USA Olympic trials, Huffins finished second behind Tom Pappas and ahead of Kip Janvrin, his future teammates at Sydney.

At the Sydney Olympics, Huffins performed consistently, and after the first nine events, including the javelin, he led eventual winner Erki Nool by 14 points. In the concluding 1500m event, Huffins ran a hard race, beating his previous best time by almost 13 seconds. It was enough to capture the bronze medal. Huffins score was a season's best of 8595 points and only 46 points short of gold medalist Erki Nool.

On the topic of not winning the gold medal, Huffins later said there were as many bronze medals as gold medals, so he didn't feel any less honored for finishing third.[3]

Coaching career

After spending some time as an assistant coach for Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia, Huffins was hired at his alma mater, the University of California, to coach his old team, The Golden Bears. Under his direction, the team has won 14 All-American honors, set 12 new school records, sent five athletes to the 2004 Summer Olympics, and in 2005, two of Huffin's athletes were ranked in the top 10 in the United States.

On May 29, 2007, Huffins announced his resignation from his position as director of track and field at the University of California.

After brief stints at Boise State University, Eastern Michigan University, the University of Oklahoma & Clemson, he is currently (2014-2015) going into his second year coaching the Purdue Boilermakers.

Achievements

Huffins holds the heptathlon world best in the 60 m dash with a time of 6.61 seconds.

Personal bests

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

As of May 22, 2024
Event Performance Location Date Points
Decathlon 8,694 points New Orleans June 20, 1998 8,694 points
100 meters 10.22 (+0.9 m/s) Atlanta June 21, 1996 1,042 points
Long jump 8.07 m (26 ft 5+1⁄2 in) (+2.5 m/s) w Azusa April 18, 1996 1,079 points
Shot put 16.44 m (53 ft 11 in) Atlanta June 21, 1996 878 points
High jump 2.18 m (7 ft 1+3⁄4 in) New Orleans June 19, 1998 973 points
400 meters 48.05 Atlanta June 21, 1996 907 points
110 meters hurdles 13.82 (+1.5 m/s) Indianapolis June 12, 1997 998 points
Discus throw 53.22 m (174 ft 7+1⁄4 in) New Orleans June 20, 1998 938 points
Pole vault 4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in) New Orleans June 12, 1997 880 points
Javelin throw 64.35 m (211 ft 1+1⁄4 in) Sevilla August 25, 1999 803 points
1500 meters 4:38.71 Sydney September 28, 2000 688 points
Virtual Best Performance 9,186 points

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Chris Huffins". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d "Chris Huffins". usatf.org. USA Track & Field. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Bud Greenspan (Producer/director) (2001). Sydney 2000 Olympics: Bud Greenspan's Gold from Down Under (Television production).
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