Kurt Felix is performing at the highest level of his life — and it’s coming at the right time.
On June 7, Felix won the NCAA decathlon title with a Boise State and Mountain West Conference record 8,062 points. Felix hit an Olympic “B” standard in April, which enabled him to qualify to compete in London for his home country of Grenada.
“It’s very exciting — I try not too think about it too much, but I’ve thought about it a little bit,” Felix said. “It’s the biggest thing you can be a part of in sports.”
The Olympic decathlon will be held Aug. 8-9, and Felix is certainly aware of the excellent competition. American Ashton Eaton set the world record at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 24 with 9,039 points, and two of the three medalists from Beijing in 2008 will be competing.
“I’m going to try and improve on all my marks, try to come out with a personal best,” Felix said. “I’m really excited to be amongst the pro guys.”
Regardless of the tough competition, Felix has been soaking in the opportunity that very few athletes ever receive.
Felix will be one of 10 athletes representing Grenada in London, and he is the first representative of his country to ever compete in the Olympic decathlon. He said friends back home have sent him plenty of texts or Facebook messages, even hearing from Grenadians who he has never met.
“Everybody’s like ‘get the gold,’ ‘get a medal,’ it’s not something that’s easy to do,” Felix said. “After I won the NCAAs, I got a lot of friend requests from people I didn’t know.”
After becoming the fourth Bronco to win a men’s NCAA track title, Felix said the rest he got afterward has put him as close to 100 percent as he has been in months. At the national indoor meet in Nampa in March, Felix was unable to finish the heptathlon, unable to clear the first height in the pole vault, then pulled out of the final event, the 1,000 meters.
However, a month later, he posted his Olympic standard, then was able to continue to improve.
“It gave me a lot of confidence to start the season the way I did and was able to get better as the season progressed,” Felix said.
Once he is finished with school, Felix plans to go pro and focus full-time on the decathlon with the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero in his sights.
First things first, however — London.
“I’ve got a lot left,” Felix said. “It’s been a long season, but I think I should be able to make a good push at the games.”
by: Dave Southorn
from: http://www.idahopress.com/sports/boise-state-s-kurt-felix-hitting-his-olympic-stride/article_c1d2f9b4-d48c-11e1-a718-0019bb2963f4.html
