Trey Hardee was the world's top-rated decathlete in '09. He came within 18 points of his 8534 PR from the '08 Olympic Trials with an 8516 total for 2nd in the prestigious 10-event meet in Götzis, Austria.

Next, the Alabama-born/Texas-trained multi-talent won his first national title at 8261. Then, best of all, Hardee put together an ideal two days at the World Championships in Berlin to score a big 8790 victory to become the No. 3 American ever, trailing only Olympic champions Dan O'Brien and Bryan Clay.

After riding that wave of momentum to the heptathlon silver behind Clay in this year's World Indoor, the 26-year-old Hardee was ready for a rest in this one slow year in the Olympic quadrennium.