Chris Huffins
Encyclopedia
Chris Huffins is an athlete from the United States
who competed in the field of Decathlon
. He was the Director and Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Track and Field
and Cross Country
programs at the University of California
from 2002 to 2007. He married Monique Parker in 1997. He earned a degree from the University of California in French. Huffins is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity.
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.
Huffins also holds the decathlon world record in 100 m with a time of 10.22 and the heptathlon world record in 60 m with a time of 6.61 seconds.
was injured on the eve of the Games. At age 30, Huffins was the oldest entrant in the Sydney decathlon.
During the competition, Huffins performed consistently enough to lead in points after the first nine events, including the javelin. For the concluding 1500m event, he ran a hard race, finishing fourth and beating his previous best time by almost 13 seconds to capture the bronze.
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.
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-America
n 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.
He is currently an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who competed in the field of Decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
. He was the Director and Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Track and Field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and Cross Country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
programs at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
from 2002 to 2007. He married Monique Parker in 1997. He earned a degree from the University of California in French. Huffins is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity.
Athletic career
Chris Huffins first became interested in decathlonDecathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
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
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player, sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
, 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 NCAANational Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
- decathlon - 1st - 1993 USA Outdoors - decathlon - 9th
- 1993 Pacific Ten ConferencePacific Ten ConferenceThe Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
, 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 Athletics1995 World Championships in AthleticsThe 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
Ullevi Stadium, GothenburgGothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
- decathlon - 8th - 1995 Ranked by Track and Field News decathlon - 8th World, 2nd U.S.
- 1996 Olympic Trials - decathlon - 3rd
- 1996 1996 Summer Olympics1996 Summer OlympicsThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
Atlanta, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- 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 GamesGoodwill GamesThe Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
, - 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 Sydney2000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
- 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 FieldUSA Track and FieldUSA Track & Field is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking...
Huffins also holds the decathlon world record in 100 m with a time of 10.22 and the heptathlon world record in 60 m with a time of 6.61 seconds.
2000 Sydney Olympics
Huffins qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics from the American team only because projected decathlete Dan O'BrienDan O'Brien
Daniel Dion O'Brien is a former American decathlete. He was deemed one of the best decathlon athletes of the 1990s, winning an Olympic gold medal after winning three consecutive world titles....
was injured on the eve of the Games. At age 30, Huffins was the oldest entrant in the Sydney decathlon.
During the competition, Huffins performed consistently enough to lead in points after the first nine events, including the javelin. For the concluding 1500m event, he ran a hard race, finishing fourth and beating his previous best time by almost 13 seconds to capture the bronze.
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 UniversityWake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
and Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Huffins was hired at his alma mater, the University of California, to coach his old team, The Golden Bears
California Golden Bears
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...
. Under his direction, the team has won 14 All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n 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.
He is currently an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University.