If you don’t know who Ashton Eaton is, you should! He’s one of the best all-around athletes of all time, dominating the decathlon (which contains 10 track and field events).

After breaking the decathlon world record at the US Olympic trials just last month—he’s gearing up to win the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics decathlon starting August 8th! For him, a solid score would be bliss, according to Huffington Post.

We admire and commend Eaton for his amazing hard work, determination and thousands of hours of work at what’s arguably the most difficult event in the Olympics.

What’s also commendable is his humility. Eaton says breaking the world record was actually bittersweet: "At first I was happy," Eaton said on Monday, according to Reuters. "Then I kind of got sad because I think Roman is really a great guy, and he had a really good record and he has done a lot for our event and our sport.”

So how did he find career bliss as a decathlete?

Eaton says running is simply something that's inherently part of who he is: “I wouldn't say there was a moment of realization when I wanted to be a runner; it was always just something I was,” Eaton told Runner’s World.

When to watch: August 8th. Click here for the Decathalon time table.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons