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Ashton Eaton and Coach Harry Marra End Their Journey

By Justin Phillips

Aug 18, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Ashton Eaton (USA) hugs track coach Harry Marra after winning the decathlon in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Ashton Eaton (USA) hugs track coach Harry Marra after winning the decathlon in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ashton Eaton is retired from Track and Field, and his Coach Harry Marra reflected on the Journey.

Earlier this week, Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen-Eaton announced they were retiring from Track and Field. The Tracktown USA Power Couple decided that 10 years was enough. The Eaton’s decided that back to back Olympic Gold Medals in the Decathalon for Ashton along with tons of memories of competing at Hayward Field was enough.

One man who took that journey with them was their Coach. Harry Marra spoke with Spikes in a candid interview recently and talked about everything from how he landed in Oregon and met the Eaton’s and Coached one of the best to ever set foot on the World Stage in Track and Field.

Feb 14, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Brianne Theisen (CAN), right, and coach Harry Marra at the 108th Millrose Games at Armory. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Brianne Theisen (CAN), right, and coach Harry Marra at the 108th Millrose Games at Armory. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

"He gets in the blocks and he counts, ‘one-two-three-four-five-six,’ puts his seventh foot down and shouts ‘money!’ and goes over the hurdle so impressively, like he’d been doing it for 100 years. With others it took a full year to get them comfortable. He does it in 15 seconds. Nothing. WHOOM! He just does it.Marra talks about a training session in the Hurdles with Ashton Eaton early on. (via Spikes)"

Marra was at an age where retirement was the option, not getting back into Coaching, but he did it. He gave it his all. Ashton Eaton took Marra’s words to Heart and through his time at the University of Oregon and as a Professional in the Sport. Eaton gave a little bit more. It paid off time after time.

While we will remember Ashton and Brianne Thiesen-Eaton’s accomplishments on the Track, we also need to remember the importance of Coach Harry Marra who was the key to the success of the most accomplished Decathlete in Track and Field in the United States in the last ten years.