American world record holder Ashton Eaton has dominated the early rounds of the Olympic decathlon this morning.
The 24-year-old set a new Olympic best in the opening 100m by crossing the line in 10.35s.
He then was the only man to clear 8m in the long jump, which meant that he was the only athlete to score over a thousand points in each of the first two events.
Eaton took a 143-point lead into the shot put but this was cut to 135 by compatriot's Trey Hardee's longer shot.
Former Olympic champion Roman Sebrle had to withdraw after the 100m and British hopeful Daniel Awde also pulled out after aggravating his knee in the long jump.
The top 10 after three rounds:
1. Eaton (USA) - 2,848 pts
2. Hardee (USA) - 2,713
3. Kasyanov (UKR) - 2,664
4. Van Alphen (BEL) - 2,639
5. Warner (CAN) - 2,637
6. Karpov (KAZ) - 2,625
7. Freimuth (GER) - 2,586
8. Sviridov (RUS) - 2,586
9. Dudas (SRB) - 2,539
10. Sintnicolaas (NED) - 2,536
Pascal Lemesre
