View source for Chris Huffins

{{short description|American decathlete}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name = 
|fullname = Christopher Allen Huffins<ref name=sports-reference>{{cite web|title=Chris Huffins|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/hu/chris-huffins-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417175431/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/hu/chris-huffins-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|website=sports-reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=4 June 2015}}</ref>
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1970|4|15}}<ref name=sports-reference/><ref name=usatf>{{cite web|title=Chris Huffins|url=http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/TrackAndFieldArchive/2001/Huffins_Chris.asp|website=usatf.org|publisher=USA Track & Field|access-date=4 June 2015}}</ref>
|birth_place= [[Brooklyn, New York]]<ref name=sports-reference/><ref name=usatf/>
|height = 6 ft 2+1/2 in<ref name=sports-reference/><ref name=usatf/>
|weight = 185 lb<ref name=sports-reference/><ref name=usatf/>
|medaltemplates={{MedalSport | Men's [[Athletics (sport)|Athletics]]}}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]] | [[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon|Decathlon]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics|1999 Seville]]|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Decathlon|Decathlon]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Goodwill Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver|1998 New York City|Decathlon}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|1999 Winnipeg|Decathlon}}
{{MedalCompetition|USA Championships}}
{{MedalSilver|1995|Decathlon}}
{{MedalSilver|1997|Decathlon}} 
{{MedalGold|1998|Decathlon}}
{{medalGold|1999|Decathlon}}
{{MedalCompetition|U.S. Olympic Trials}} 
{{MedalBronze|1996|Decathlon}} 
{{MedalCompetition|NCAA Championships}} 
{{MedalGold|1993|Decathlon}}
}}
'''Chris Huffins''' (born April 15, 1970) is an athlete from the [[United States]] who competed in the field of [[decathlon]].  He was the director and head coach of the men's and women's [[track and field]] and [[cross country running|cross country]] programs at the [[University of California]] from 2002 to 2007.  He married Monique Parker in 1997 with whom he had one son Zachary. He earned a degree from the University of California in political economies of industrial societies in 2007.  Huffins is a member of [[Alpha Phi Alpha]] fraternity. He is currently married to Tamika Huffins with whom he had another son, Jaxon.

==Athletic career==
Chris Huffins first became interested in [[decathlon]] while a student at the University of California. Sidelined with a broken toe, he watched other students performing decathlon and decided that that was the sport for him. Before becoming a decathlete, Chris Huffins was also a [[basketball]] player, [[Sprint (running)|sprinter]], and [[long jumper]].

As a decathlete, Huffins acquired a reputation as a fast starter but a slow finisher, prone to surging ahead on the first day of the competition, but fading on the second day. Huffins denied this accusation, saying that it was an accident of ordering because his two weakest events (javelin, 1500m run) happened to be the final two events of the decathlon.<ref name="GreenspanSydney2000">{{cite video | people=[[Bud Greenspan]] (Producer/director) | date=2001 | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0811097 | title=Sydney 2000 Olympics: Bud Greenspan's Gold from Down Under | medium=Television production}}
</ref>

==2000 Sydney Olympics==
Leading into the Sydney Games, Huffins established himself as one of the best decathletes in the world.  In 1998, he finished second in the [[Goodwill Games]], and in 1999, Huffins won the [[Pan American Games]] and finished third at the [[1999 World Championships in Athletics|1999 World Championships]] in the decathlon.  At the 2000 USA Olympic trials, Huffins finished second behind [[Tom Pappas]] and ahead of [[Kip Janvrin]], his future teammates at Sydney.

At the Sydney Olympics, Huffins performed consistently, and after the first nine events, including the javelin, he led eventual winner [[Erki Nool]] by 14 points. In the concluding 1500m event, Huffins ran a hard race, beating his previous best time by almost 13 seconds.  It was enough to capture [[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon|the bronze medal]].  Huffins score was a season's best of 8595 points and only 46 points short of gold medalist Erki Nool.

On the topic of not winning the gold medal, Huffins later said there were as many bronze medals as gold medals, so he didn't feel any less honored for finishing third.<ref name="GreenspanSydney2000" />

==Coaching career==
After spending some time as an assistant coach for [[Wake Forest University]] in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina]] and [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], Huffins was hired at his alma mater, the University of California, to coach his old team, the [[California Golden Bears|Golden Bears]].  Under his direction, the team has won 14 [[All-America]]n honors, set 12 new school records, sent five athletes to the 2004 [[Summer Olympics]], and in 2005, two of Huffin's athletes were ranked in the top 10 in the United States.

On May 29, 2007, Huffins announced his resignation from his position as director of track and field at the University of California.

After brief stints at [[Boise State University]], [[Eastern Michigan University]], the [[University of Oklahoma]] and [[Clemson University|Clemson]], he is currently (2014–2015) going into his second year coaching the [[Purdue Boilermakers]].

==Achievements==
*'''1992''' [[1992 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]] - decathlon - '''16th'''
*'''1993''' [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] - decathlon - '''1st'''
*'''1993''' [[1993 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships]] - decathlon - '''9th'''
*'''1993''' [[Pacific-10 Conference]], decathlon - '''1st'''
*'''1993''' Ranked by [[Track and Field News]] decathlon - '''9th U.S.'''
*'''1995''' [[1995 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships]] - decathlon - '''2nd'''
*'''1995''' [[1995 World Championships in Athletics]] [[Ullevi Stadium]], [[Gothenburg]], [[Sweden]] - decathlon - '''8th'''
*'''1995''' Ranked by [[Track and Field News]] decathlon - '''8th World, 2nd U.S.'''
*'''1996''' [[1996 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]] - decathlon - '''3rd'''
*'''1996''' [[1996 Summer Olympics]] [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[United States|U.S.]] - decathlon - '''10th'''
*'''1996''' Ranked by [[Track and Field News]] decathlon - '''10th World, 3rd U.S.'''
*'''1997''' [[1997 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships]] - decathlon - '''2nd'''
*'''1997''' Ranked by [[Track and Field News]] decathlon - '''7th World, 2nd U.S.'''
*'''1998''' [[1998 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships]] - decathlon - '''1st'''
*'''1998''' [[Deca Jam]], - decathlon - '''1st'''
*'''1998''' [[Goodwill Games]], - decathlon - '''2nd'''
*'''1998''' Ranked by [[Track and Field News]] decathlon - '''5th World, 2nd U.S.'''
*'''1998''' Recipient of the [[John H. Bennett Award]] presented by [[USA Track & Field]]
*'''1999''' [[1999 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships]] - decathlon - '''1st'''
*'''1999''' [[Pan Am Games]] - decathlon - '''1st'''
*'''1999''' [[1999 World Championships in Athletics – Men's decathlon|World Championships]] - decathlon - '''3rd'''
*'''1999''' Recipient of the [[John H. Bennett Award]] presented by [[USA Track & Field]]
*'''2000''' [[2000 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]] - decathlon - '''2nd'''
*'''2000''' [[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon|2000 Summer Olympics]] [[Sydney]], [[Australia]] - decathlon - '''3rd'''
*'''2000''' Ranked by [[Track and Field News]] decathlon - '''4th World, 1st U.S.'''
*'''2000''' Inducted into the [[Indiana State Track & Field Hall of Fame]]
*'''2000''' Recipient of the [[John H. Bennett Award]] presented by [[USA Track and Field]]

Huffins holds  the heptathlon world best in the 60&nbsp;m dash with a time of 6.61 seconds.

==Personal bests==
Information from [[World Athletics]] profile unless otherwise noted.

{{updated|May 22, 2024}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Event
! Performance
! Location
! Date
! Points
|-
| Decathlon|| align=right | 8,694 points|| [[New Orleans]] || June 20, 1998 || align=center |8,694 points
|-
| [[100 meters]]|| align=right | 10.22 (+0.9&nbsp;m/s)|| [[Atlanta]] || June 21, 1996 || align=center |1,042 points
|-
| [[Long jump]]|| align=right | {{T&Fcalc|8.07}} (+2.5&nbsp;m/s) {{AthAbbr|w}} || [[Azusa, California|Azusa]] || April 18, 1996 || align=center |1,079 points
|-
| [[Shot put]]|| align=right | {{T&Fcalc|16.44}} || [[Atlanta]] || June 21, 1996 || align=center |878 points
|-
| [[High jump]]|| align=right | {{T&Fcalc|2.18}} || [[New Orleans]] || June 19, 1998 || align=center |973 points
|-
| [[400 meters]]|| align=right | 48.05|| [[Atlanta]] || June 21, 1996|| align=center |907 points
|-
| [[110 meters hurdles]]|| align=right | 13.82 (+1.5&nbsp;m/s) || [[Indianapolis]] || June 12, 1997 || align=center |998 points
|-
| [[Discus throw]]|| align=right | {{T&Fcalc|53.22}} || [[New Orleans]] || June 20, 1998 || align=center |938 points
|-
| [[Pole vault]]|| align=right | {{T&Fcalc|4.90}} || [[New Orleans]] || June 12, 1997 || align=center |880 points
|-
| [[Javelin throw]]|| align=right | {{T&Fcalc|64.35}}|| [[Estadio de La Cartuja|Sevilla]] || August 25, 1999 || align=center |803 points
|-
| [[1500 meters]]|| align=right | 4:38.71 || [[Stadium Australia|Sydney]] || September 28, 2000 || align=center |688 points
|-
|colspan=4 align=right| '''Virtual Best Performance''' || align="center" | 9,186 points
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=2851&Gender=M&Page=Tournaments.asp&Tour=P&Year=1999&TF=F trackfield.brinkster]
*[http://partners.nytimes.com/library/sports/olympics/122999oly-huffins.html New York Times]
*[http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/557/chris-huffins Decathlon2000 Bio]

{{Footer Pan American Champions Decathlon Men}}
{{Footer US NC Decathlon Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1996 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 2000 Summer Olympics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huffins, Chris}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male decathletes]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:California Golden Bears men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets track and field coaches]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Oklahoma Sooners track and field coaches]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Goodwill Games medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]