Good-bye, Paul Terek! (1)

Decathlete Paul Terek recently announced that he is officially retiring from the sport at the age of 31. He will transition to full-time job at the Diablo Valley Nuclear Power Plant (California) in January where he’ll become an engineering supervisor.

Terek competed in three IAAF World Championships Paris 2003, Helsinki 2005 and Osaka 2007. His personal best in the decathlon came at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento where he scored 8312 points and finished in 3rd place to earn a spot in the Athens Olympic Games. During his 12-year career, he also won three national indoor heptathlon titles.

Terek said he contemplated going into collegiate coaching following his decathlon career, but opted to start a job and raise a family.