The Olympics started! But the Olympic track program begins in a week, on Friday, August 12. The men's decathlon begins on Wednesday, August 17 and concludes on Thursday, August 18 at 8:45 PM Eastern time with the 1500 meters. The women's heptathlon starts on Friday, August 12 and concludes on Saturday, August 13 at 9:53 PM Eastern time with the 800 meters. Below are previews of both events. 

Decathlon

Last three podiums

2015 Worlds: Ashton Eaton, Damian Warner, Rico Freimuth
2013 Worlds: Ashton Eaton, Michael Schrader, Damian Warner
2012 Olympics: Ashton Easton, Trey Hardee, Leonel Suarez

Team USA with 2016 season bests

Eaton (8,750 points), Jeremy Taiwo (8,425), Zach Ziemek (8,413) 

2016 world leaders

Eaton (8,750), Arthur Abele (8,605), Warner (8,523)

Is Ashton Eaton definitely going to win?

Eaton is so good that his wife, heptathlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton, says that training with him stresses her out.

Eaton is so good that even though his 8,750 points at the Olympic Trials was an injury-hampered conservative effort that his coach described as "going mild," it's still better than anyone else in the world has scored since 2009.

He pulled out of a decathlon in Talence, France in September 2013 with a minor back injury. Other than that, Eaton hasn't lost a decathlon or heptathlon since finishing second behind Trey Hardee at the 2011 world championship. At his worst, he's unbeatable; at his best, he's the best decathlete of all time. Eaton broke the world record at the 2012 Olympic Trials and last year's world championships; another 9,000+ point WR is probably not on offer in Rio, but he still won't lose short of injury or disaster.

It's worth noting that Eaton is extremely good at avoiding injury and disaster. In 16 heptathlons and decathlons since 2010, his DNF in Talence is the only time he didn't finish in the top three. But if some preposterous, borderline-unprecedented shit goes down, the athletes probably best positioned to capitalize are a Canadian and two Germans. Damian Warner of Canada has been on the last two global podiums and has the best non-Eaton mark in the qualifying period. Germans Arthur Abele and Rico Freimuth are at spots Nos. 3 and 4 on the qualifying list.

What about the other Americans?

The last Olympics that Taiwo or Ziemek's PB would've medalled in were in 1992, and the last world championships those marks would have medalled at were in 2005. So their chances are not great.

How can I sound like a cool track fan?

A guy I coached with who was a decathlete in college exclusively referred to the event as the "decat," in a gorgeous downstate Illinois accent, with the emphasis on the syllables the same as in "decaf." I have no idea if other decathletes say "decat," but I love saying it and you will too.

Heptathlon

Last three podiums

2015 Worlds: Jessica Ennis-Hill, Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Laura Ikauniece-Admidiņa
2013 Worlds: Hanna Melnychenko, Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Dafne Schippers (yes, that Dafne Schippers)
2012 Olympics: Jessica Ennis-Hill, Lilli Schwarzkopf, Tatyana Chernova

Team USA with 2016 season bests

Barbara Nwaba (6,494 points), Heather Miller-Koch (6,423), Kendell Williams (6,402)

2016 world leaders

Theisen-Eaton (6,765), Ennis-Hill (6,733), Anouk Vetter (6,626)

What's the deal with all these hyphenated names?

Thanks for asking, and thanks for an excuse to link to the best ​All Things Considered ​headline ever: When Hyphen Boy Meets Hyphen Girl, Names Pile Up. Team USA came within 17 points of being two-thirds hyphenates, as Sharon-Day Monroe barely lost to Kendell Williams. And this blog hasn't even included Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who is the no. 2 betting favorite despite only finishing sixth in Gotzis in May.

How are America's chances?

It's hard to imagine any of the three Americans medalling, and even harder to imagine them winning. But all three scored within 92 points of each other at the Trials, meaning that our jingoistic hopes don't just rest on the shoulders of one woman. Even if one or two of them crash out, there will almost certainly be at least one American within shouting distance of a medal on day two. Only one American woman has medalled at the Olympics since 1992 (Hyleas Fountain in 2008) and the last time an American medalled in the hep at the world championships was 2001. So any hardware for us would be historic.

Who's gonna win this thing?

Theisen-Eaton's 6,808 in Gotzis in 2015 is the best in the world since Ennis-Hill scored 6,955 to win the 2012 Olympic heptathlon. So she has a real chance to win her first global outdoor title and set the table for an Eaton family sweep in the multis. But Ennis-Hill is not to be messed with at major championships. She won the Olympics in 2012, missed 2013 with injury, missed 2014 to have a child, and won worlds in 2015. With another year of healthy training under her belt and a season best just 32 points behind Theisen-Eaton's, Ennis-Hill is the favorite until she loses. Theisen-Eaton has only beaten Ennis-Hill in a multi one time--Gotzis last year--and until she does it at a global championship, Ennis-Hill is the favorite.

Are the announcers going to spend an unbearable amount of time talking about Ashton Eaton while Brianne Theisen-Eaton is competing?

Yes.