Clay is doing it the right way

He's determined to show he's clean throughProject Believe

By Charles Whisnand

Appeal Sports Editor

EUGENE, Ore. " Bryan Clay is on a mission in the decathlon " to set a world record and to show it can be done cleanly.

Clay has become the gold medal favorite in the decathlon after setting a personal best and Olympic Trials record of 8,832 points in winning the U.S. Olympic Trials on Monday at Hayward Field.

Clay's pursuit of Roman Serble's world record of 9,026 points at next month's Olympics in Beijing won't be easy. But if Clay does perform as he's capable, he will break Dan O'Brien's American record of 8,891 points.

Who said Clay would break O'Brien's record. O'Brien. "I know I'm not going to have it for long," said O'Brien about the American record during an interview with Clay on the field after Clay won the decathlon on Monday.

Even if Clay was to be solid in all 10 events in Beijing, he'll be hard pressed to break Serble's world mark. Clay struggled in the long jump and the shot put in the decathlon during the trials.

If Clay had come close to the marks he normall has in the long jump and shot put, he may have broken Serble's record at the trials or he may have not. It would have been close. He would have definitely broken O'Brien's American mark.

But one other thing is for sure. It will be difficult for Clay to break Serble's record because he doesn't cheat.

Or at least there's absolutely no evidence or reason to believe he cheats.

That's because he subjects himself to drug testing well above and beyond what's required as part of Project Believe, a program designed to promote Olympic caliber athletes who stay clean.

Clay addressed the subject of Project Believe during a press conference with the media after his win on Monday. He said when he was approached he thought it was a "no-brainer" to be a part of the program. "I have nothing to hide," Clay said.

His head coach Kevin Reid, a 1983 Carson High graduate, who has coached Clay ever since the athlete arrived at Azusa Pacific where Reid coaches, has vouched for his character. Reid once said Clay is someone who one would want to raise children.

So it was fitting after winning the decathlon on Monday, one of the first people he celebrated with was his son, Jacob.

And the effort to jump on Clay's image bandwagon has already begun. Moments after winning the decathlon, a Visa commercial featuring Clay with Morgan Freeman's voice was featured on the big screen.