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.

Achievements

• 1992 Olympic Trials - decathlon - 16th
• 1993 NCAA - decathlon - 1st
• 1993 USA Outdoors - decathlon - 9th
• 1993 Pacific-10 Conference, decathlon - 1st
• 1993 Ranked by Track and Field News decathlon - 9th U.S.
• 1995 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships - decathlon - 2nd
• 1995 1995 World Championships in Athletics Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden - decathlon - 8th
• 1995 Ranked by Track and Field News decathlon - 8th World, 2nd U.S.
• 1996 Olympic Trials - decathlon - 3rd
• 1996 1996 Summer Olympics Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. - decathlon - 10th
• 1996 Ranked by Track and Field News decathlon - 10th World, 3rd U.S.
• 1997 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships - decathlon - 2nd
• 1997 Ranked by Track and Field News decathlon - 7th World, 2nd U.S.
• 1998 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships - decathlon - 1st
• 1998 Deca Jam, - decathlon - 1st
• 1998 Goodwill Games, - decathlon - 2nd
• 1998 Ranked by Track and Field News decathlon - 5th World, 2nd U.S.
• 1998 Recipient of the John H. Bennett Award presented by USA Track & Field
• 1999 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships - decathlon - 1st
• 1999 Pan Am Games - decathlon - 1st
• 1999 World Championships - decathlon - 3rd
• 1999 Recipient of the John H. Bennett Award presented by USA Track & Field
• 2000 OG Sydney, Australia - decathlon - 3rd
• 2000 Ranked by Track and Field News decathlon - 4th World, 1st U.S.
• 2000 Inducted into the Indiana State Track & Field Hall of Fame
• 2000 Recipient of the John H. Bennett Award presented by USA Track and Field

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

2000 Sydney Olympics

Leading into the Sydney Games, Huffins established himself as one of the best decathlete 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 6 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.

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, Eastern Michigan University, Oklahoma University & Clemson, he is currently (2014-2015) going into his second year coaching the Purdue Boilermakers.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]