EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Meter by meter, Ashton Eaton kept swallowing up real estate on a track that has always felt like home.

Second by second, the clock to the side of that track ticked away - daring him to cross the finish line in a time that would put his name in the record books.

Eaton was every bit as relentless and stubborn as that clock Saturday. He set a personal best in the exhausting 1,500-meter finale and is now the world-record holder in the decathlon - the cream of the crop in the event that determines the world's best athlete.

"It's like living an entire lifetime in two days," Eaton said.

He finished the grueling two-day event with 9,039 points in the U.S. Olympic trials to beat Roman Sebrle's 11-year-old mark by 13 points.

Eaton joined the likes of Bruce Jenner, Dan O'Brien and Rafer Johnson among the Americans who have held the world record. He did it on the 100th anniversary of the first Olympic decathlon - and many of the American greats who have made history in the event were on hand to watch Eaton do the same.

He did it in terrible weather - drizzle, rain, cold and then, finally, sunshine as he got ready for the final 1,500-meter push.

"He was in position for it, and he went for it and there was no letdown," O'Brien said. "The most impressive thing was that he kept up his intensity in this weather."

Eaton, the 24-year-old and a former NCAA champion for University of Oregon, needed a time of 4 minutes, 16.37 seconds in the 1,500 to break the mark. He finished in 4:14.48.

When it was over, he bent down and put his hands on his knees, then brought them up to cover his mouth. Tears were falling - elated and shocked all at the same time.

Chances for an American medal sweep in London, thought to be a good possibility, were vanquished when defending Olympic champion Bryan Clay fell during the hurdles. He finished 12th.

Pretty much everything else on this memorable evening in Oregon got second billing - though there was one big question mark when the night ended: Allyson Felix left the stadium thinking she'd lost the third spot in the women's 100 to Jeneba Tarmoh by less than 0.0001. But after a lengthy review, officials declared the race a dead heat, then huddled to figure out how to break the tie for the final spot.

Elsewhere, Lolo Jones' leaned at the finish line to earn the third and final Olympic spot in the 100 hurdles by 0.04 seconds. Dawn Harper won in 12.73. Tyson Gay made it through his first 100 heat cleanly, while LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and Sanya Richards-Ross all advanced in the 400.

Nobody, however, covered more ground, or did it better, than Eaton - who also overtook O'Brien's American record of 8,891 points, which he set in 1992 - nine years before Sebrle became the first man to break 9,000 points.