Decathlon a learning experience for Bertocchi
Toronto resident finishes 19th
August 22, 2008
Brad Kelly
BEIJING -- Massimo Bertocchi got what he wanted.
The 23-year-old from Toronto came to the Olympic Games in Beijing
looking for some experience against the best decathletes in the world,
and that's exactly what he got.
After concluding a grueling 10 events over two days, Bertocchi finished
19th overall in the decathlon that wrapped up on Friday night,
finishing with 7,714 points.
"I'm happy with how it ended," he said afterward. "I came here for experience and I learned a lot."
The event was won by Bryan Clay of the United States, who accumulated 8,791 points to take the gold medal.
Bertocchi's total was far below the personal best of 8,014 that he
set at the Canadian championships in Windsor in June. But, again, in
his first Olympics, this was a learning experience.
"Just how to compete with these guys and hold my energy during the
couple times when you're down and when you have to get back up," he
said of what he will take from here.