Jordyn Bruce
Eagle River’s Jordyn Bruce made her international and professional debut one to remember.
Bruce, a Lululemon ambassador, placed runner-up in the decathlon at the Open de France, amassing 6,659 points for a USA 1-2 finish.
The former Eagle River High and Illinois State star exploded out of the blocks in the 100 meters, clocking a lifetime best of 12.39 seconds to start the competition.
She continued to log solid marks on day one, placing top three in the long jump (17 feet, 9.75 inches), shot put (36 feet, 6.5 inches), high jump (5 feet, 2.5 inches), and 400 (59.00 seconds).
Bruce came into day two with momentum, zipping past the field in the 100 hurdles to notch her first win of the competition in 14.23 seconds.
She made her debut in the discus (87 feet, 8 inches) and pole vault (9 feet, 6 inches), and placed second in the javelin (107 feet) before closing out the competition in the 1500 (5:31.08).
After ten events, Bruce finished with 6,659 points to place runner-up out of 12 athletes — 521 points ahead of France’s Roséva Bidois.
Eagle River’s Jordyn Bruce.
Jordan Gray, the American record holder in the event, won with 7,841 points.
The women’s decathlon, which has been gaining steam since it was first recognized internationally, is an event Bruce has taken pride in after expanding her disciplines across the multi-events.
She spent time at The Dome and the Salcha Dome with Coaches Rafael Echavarria and David Brannan in preparation, improving her discus technique and learning how to pole vault.
For Bruce, the hard work and adaptability paid off, displaying grit through all ten events and officially adding ‘decathlete’ to her resume.
“Wouldn’t have wanted to join this club with anyone else besides these ladies,” shared Bruce on Instagram. “Despite coming from different backgrounds we were all one team this weekend!”
To top it off, Bruce met current world record holder Austra Skujytė of Lithuania, who also attended the competition.
Up next for Bruce will be the Decathlon National Championships in Walnut, California from August 12-13.