Washington, Jun 24 (IANS): US decathlon great Bryan Clay has been denied a chance to defend his title at the 2012 London Olympics after being disqualified at the trials.
Clay stumbled in Saturday's 110m hurdles at Eugene, Oregon, to cross the finish line in a poor 16.8 seconds and was disqualified in his heat for not clearing the last hurdle, reported Xinhua.
He had been third overall after the first day of the 10-event competition but fell to the 16th after the hurdles. Only the top three from the meet will earn berths to the London Olympics.
Clay won the 2008 Beijing Games decathlon with a margin of 240 points, the greatest at the Olympics since 1972. He's the first American to win the decathlon since Dan O'Brien in 1996.
Last year's world champion Ashton Eaton and reigning world champion Trey Hardee are now leading the decathlon standings in the U.S. trials after six events.