O’Brien Has Street Named After Him

Olympic decathlon champion Dan O’Brien can go running on a street named for him.

“Dan O’Brien Way” is about 1,500 meters long - the length of the race that is O’Brien’s least favorite of the 10 decathlon events.

“I got very emotional,” O’Brien, who grew up in Klamath Falls, said Sunday. “This was a very special day for me.

“Everybody dreams of coming to their hometown as a hero, and I did that.”

O’Brien was greeted by a crowd of more than 3,500 at Oregon Tech’s John F. Moehl Stadium, including local dignitaries ranging from the mayor to the postmaster.

O’Brien was honored with a commemorative postmark, the first believed to have been done for an Olympic athlete.

“Now I understand what the people of Klamath Falls felt during the Olympics,” he said. “I didn’t realize it then, but these people have been with me. The gold medal means just as much to them as it does to me.”

More than 5,000 local supporters participated in a good luck telegram before O’Brien won the decathlon at Atlanta with 8,824 points, the sixth-highest total in history.

He holds the world decathlon record with 8,891 points, a mark set in September 1992, at Talence, France.

O’Brien said his motivation in returning was to help young people understand that if they set goals, they can accomplish great things.

“I didn’t have anybody in my life come and tell me that,” he said. “I want to help kids learn how to set goals and to get a good education. I like to tell kids that they can go anywhere they want.”

O’Brien is a 1984 graduate of Henley High School.