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Ayden Owens-Delerme

Ayden Owens-Delerme (born 28 May 2000) is a Stateside Puerto Rican decathlete. He won a silver medal at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

Early life

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Owens-Delerme was first recognised as a multi-sport athlete at statewide athletic powerhouse North Allegheny in suburban Wexford. Michael Owens, Ayden Owens-Delerme's father, captained the 1980 basketball team at the University of Virginia.

High school

Owens-Delerme was the 2018 PIAA state champion in the 110 meters hurdles, 300 meters hurdles, and 200 meters dash. Additionally, he finished second in the long jump. By winning three events and finishing second in another, he single-handedly won the state title for North Allegheny.

Owens-Delerme was a four-time New Balance National All-American, won the 2018 New Balance indoor 60-meter hurdles title with a state-record time of 7.59, and decathlon champion at the 2017 New Balance Nationals Outdoor. These accomplishments made him the 2018 Gatorade Pennsylvania Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Owens-Delerme concluded his prep career ranked in the Top 10 nationally in seven different track events.

NCAA

Owens-Delerme first attended the University of Southern California, where he was named 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. He then transferred to the University of Michigan, where he earned the 2021 Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year Award, before transferring to the University of Arkansas, for whom he won the 2022 NCAA championship decathlon, following which he was named the 2022 SEC Field Athlete of the Year. Owens-Delerme graduated from the University of Michigan in 2021 and the University of Arkansas in 2023.

Owens-Delerme finished his collegiate career as a 9-time All-American, 3-time NCAA Champion, 2-time Southeastern Conference Champion, 1-time Big Ten Conference Champion, 1-time Pac-12 Conference Champion, and 17-time All-Conference finalist.

Professional career

Despite being born and raised in Pennsylvania, Owens-Delerme represents the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico on the international stage, as his family on his mother's side are Puerto Rican, and he visited the island yearly in his childhood.

Competing at the 2022 World Athletics Championships decathlon in Eugene, Oregon, Owens-Delerme was placed third overall after the 100 metres, shot put and long jump events and took the lead overnight after a personal best 45.07 in the 400m. After subpar second-day performances in the javelin and pole vault, he fell behind eventual champion Kevin Mayer and others, eventually finishing 4th.

He competed in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the decathlon, finishing in ninth place after winning the decathlon at Mt. SAC Relays and setting a Central American and Caribbean record, scoring 8,732 points.

He finished seventh at the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis on 1 June 2025 with a tally of 8,486 points, setting a meeting record time for the 400 metres. He won the 2025 Décastar decathlon in Talence, France, scoring 8,478 points.

Owens-Delerme won a silver medal at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, setting a new national record of 8,784 points, becoming the third Puerto Rican after Javier Culson and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn to win a world championship medal. He also placed third overall in the season-long World Athletics Combined Events Tour for 2025.

Competition record

Collegiate

International

Personal bests

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Outdoor

Indoor

References

External links