All Ashton Eaton has left to prove is just how dominant he is

There isn’t much left for Ashton Eaton to do in the decathlon. He’s won Olympic Gold and multiple world championships, and, since 2012, he hasn’t lost a major world title in the 10-event test of athleticism (that includes the decathlon’s indoor brethren, the heptathlon). Plus, he’s broken the world record ... twice.

Now he’s heading to Rio for a shot at one more gold medal, and one more honor in the event. If he wins -- and he’s expected to do so -- he’d be the first back-to-back Olympic champ since Great Britain’s Daley Thompson won in 1980 and 1984. The U.S.‘s Bob Mathias is the only other two-time winner (1948 and 1952). The 28-year-old Eaton knows how amazing joining that elite company would be.

“That would be cool because those guys are -- well, cool is like a crappy word because that would be awesome company to be in,” Eaton told reporters after winning the Olympic Trials decathlon in July.

While Eaton, whose bubbly personality is contagious on the track, is already in the elite company of former household names like Bruce Jenner and Dan O’Brien, he’s not quite as famous as the Olympic stars. That doesn’t mean he’s not a recognizable face -- you can spot him next to 12-packs of Coca Cola in the grocery story and in the pre-flight safety film playing on United Airlines planes.

Before Eaton takes to the track for the two-day event starting on August 17, his wife, Brianne Theisen-Eaton, will compete for Canada in the heptathlon. The 2016 world indoor champion should be in the hunt for a medal, and maybe even the win.

Track’s first couple is ready for Rio, and they’re enjoying the ride.

“It’s pretty cool,” Eaton told reporters after the Olympic Trials. “We probably won’t fully understand until we’re older and have opportunity to look back on the experience,” Eaton said. “We’re very focused right now. She’s a massive supporter of me and I’m a massive supporter of her. I think it does make the pursuit easier because we understand what it takes in our marriage -- the success of our athletic dreams comes before everything ... Luckily I understand her and she understands me.”

She’s one of the few people who understands Eaton. It’s hard to fathom just how athletic he is. Every time he steps on the track it’s a spectacle. He jumped back on the track unscathed after jumping the wall at an indoor race in 2015:

Then, this January during training, he hopped 36 steps in six jumps at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, home of the Olympic Trials.

Eaton struggled with a tender right hamstring at the 2016 Olympic Trials -- “Most decathletes probably have something,” Eaton said. “It’s just the nature of the event” -- so following up his 2015 world record may be out of the cards, but Eaton is ready for another shot at glory. Not that one more shot at a world record is off the table.

“The Olympic Games are so much different from anything else,” Eaton said following his Trials win. “You don’t even talk about world records, in a way. If it’s there at the very end, sure, I’ll run to get it. Other than that, it’s event to event.”