Curtis Beach
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.jpg) Beach in 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Curtis Lee Beach | |||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  United States | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 22, 1990 | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 166 lb (75 kg)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
Event | Combined events | |||||||||||||||||
| College team | Duke Blue Devils (2009–14) | |||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2021[2] | |||||||||||||||||
| Now coaching | PLNU Sea Lions[3] (2025–) | |||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | Decathlon: 8,084 points (2011) Heptathlon: 6,190 points (2014) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Curtis Lee Beach (born July 22, 1990) is a retired American decathlete and a two-time NCAA heptathlon champion who holds the world heptathlon best in the 1000 meters.
Beach was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the oldest son of Jeana King-Beach and David Beach.[5]
From a young age, he showed athletic promise, joining a track club at eight and competing in his first decathlon at fourteen.[6][7][8] At Albuquerque Academy, he won 17 individual New Mexico state titles and set national high school records in the pentathlon and decathlon (with both high school and international implements).[9][10][11][12] In 2009, DyeStat declared him "the greatest US high school decathlete ever."[13]
College
Beach attended Duke University, where he became a two-time NCAA national champion in the heptathlon, winning in 2012 and 2014.[14][15] In 2011, he set a collegiate record in the decathlon 1500 meters and finished second in the decathlon at the NCAA Championships.[16][17] In 2010 and 2012, he set world heptathlon bests in the 1000 meters.[18][19]
Professional career
After graduating from Duke, Beach underwent Tommy John surgery,[20][21] then for the next three years competed professionally for Nike.[22][3] In 2016, he won the heptathlon at the U.S. indoor national championships and placed fourth in the heptathlon at the World Indoor Championships.[23][24] In 2017, he explored other events, including a focus on the 800 meters and the 400 meters hurdles.[25]
Honors and awards
Governor Bill Richardson declared July 1, 2009, to be "Curtis Lee Beach Day" in recognition of the day that Beach was named the 2009 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.[1][26][27] He received the Fair Play award for cheering on Ashton Eaton during the final leg of the decathlon 1500 meters at the 2012 US Olympic Trials.[28][29][30] In 2015, he was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.[31][32]
