It was an accomplishment so great, even the sky started weeping.
Moments after University of Oregon alum Ashton Eaton defended his Olympic gold medal in the decathlon Thursday night, becoming just the third athlete in the history of the event to do so and tying the Olympic record in the process, a light shower fell through the open roof of Olympic Stadium.
Eaton had a parade anyway, galloping around the perimeter of the track, the American flag draped across his shoulders.
By running the 1,500 meters, the final of 10 events, in 4 minutes, 23.33 seconds, Eaton tied the Olympic record of 8,893 points set in Athens in 2004 by Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic.