The world of sports is filled with a plethora of game disciplines. Ranging from structurally similar games to a fusion of two or more disciplines, the diversity is huge. Likewise, a decathlon is a literal combination of ten track and field events that stand as the ultimate physical test. While the world might not be as crazy about the sport as track and field, there are decathletes who have done the extraordinary. Recently, an ageless Jamaican decathlon legend and former Pan American Games champion turned 43, and the community is celebrating. 

The Olympian was born on 28th September 1980 and stands as one of the best decathletes in the world. The mega athlete bagged a total of four major international gold medals in his career and it has been 43 of his impactful existence. A social media post celebrated the birth anniversary of the swift, strong, and versatile decathlete and posted about his staunch achievements.

The 43rd birth anniversary of the forever Decathlon athlete

Jamaica’s Maurice Smith has run, jumped, and thrown it all. While the legend initially started his journey in 1998 as a javelin thrower in international competitions, he switched to decathlons in 1999. Since then, the Jamaican has played the sport and won medals almost every year throughout his professional reign. A tweet on X officially celebrated the 43rd birth anniversary of the great legend, reminding the sports world of his great achievements. 

The tweet carried the caption, “Maurice Smith, Jamaica’s most successful decathlete, born 43 years ago today on 28 Sep 1980, in St. Catherine. Calabar High and Auburn University alumnus. Broke the Pan American Games decathlon record in 2007, winning his first international gold medal.” The tweet also spoke about his 2007 silver medal at the Osaka World Athletics Championship. 

Maurice Smith has always loved being a decathlon athlete. According to the Jamaica Observer, Smith was once told by Olympian Herb McKenley to carry on his career in decathlon owing to his talents. Thereon, Smith stuck with the sport till he retired in 2012. These days, the record-holding athlete has immersed himself in the production of another kind of record. In fact, even while exploring a new talent, Smith didn’t let go of his love for decathlon.

Meet Maurice DecaJams Smith 

Maurice Smith turned to making music after the end of his stellar career as a decathlete. The decathlon athlete aptly named his musical outfit DecaJams. On top of it, Smith also tattooed ‘Deca’ and ‘Jams’ on his forearms. According to Maurice Smith in a 2021 interview, “Music is the journey right now fi me, so I will dropping a lot of songs coming, because mi catalogue deep enuh. A jut people nuh hear it yet.” Smith made the above statement after releasing his track ‘Olympians’, paying tribute to Olympic athletes. In fact, the creative athlete released it the same time as the kickstart of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

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The decathlon expert treads down the genres of dancehall and reggae to make the music of his taste. Smith also revealed that his journey in music is neither a hobby nor a fluke. While Smith’s eleventh sport, music, didn’t take off as successfully as he planned to, his decathlon achievements will forever be treasured. At 43, the proud decathlete still stands amongst the top sportspersons of Jamaica and the world.

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