He has a younger brother, Nikolas, who was also a standout athlete on the Azusa Pacific University track team.

[5] He competed in track and field in high school, during which time he was coached by Dacre Bowen and Martin Hee.

He was unable to complete the 2007 World Championships due to injuries, dropping out after four events in which he claimed the competition's best scores in the 100 metres and the long jump.

[10] He is one of two Olympians featured on a special edition post-Beijing Olympics Wheaties cereal box; the other was gymnast Nastia Liukin.

[11] His attempts to regain his World Championships decathlon title were thwarted by a hamstring injury in June 2009.

[12] He returned to action in 2010 and won the men's heptathlon at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

He was initially disqualified for pushing over the hurdle, but that decision was reversed, allowing him a mark for running 16.81 s, last in the field and over 1.5 s slower than the next best competitor.