Clara Barton was already in tears before she answered her phone.
The call was coming in from her husband, Ben, who had just won the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Read more President Oaks teaches 3 characteristics of ‘the only true and living church’
“That was definitely an emotional moment,” the recently graduated Ben Barton told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show earlier this week. “She was crying a lot. She (was) so happy because she knows how much that meant for me.”
Clara, a junior at BYU, stayed home to care for their three-week old son, which can make a 10-event decathlon two states away seem like a cakewalk.
Together with baby William, the new family watched Ben beat the field on television.
“It meant a lot to see my wife sacrifice to help me get to that position,” Ben Barton said. “When you have a newborn, you help each other.
“Normally I’d be on diaper duties during the night, but she told me to go to another room and get good sleep in the weeks leading up to nationals so I could really perform.”
The big finish
By the time Ben Barton arrived at the decathlon’s final event last Thursday, he needed a near-perfect 1500m race to pull it off.
Motivated by Clara’s charity, he did just that, claiming BYU’s first decathlon national title since 1981.
“She was really tired during that time, and it was hard to see her go through that,” Ben Barton said. “I wasn’t going to let it all be in vain.”
As Barton arrived at the finish line, he had no idea if his time was fast enough to win the overall prize. He soon learned that it was, and he collapsed to the ground.
“I (was) just out of breath. That’s how every workout goes for me. I don’t know why. I’m always out of breath and I lay down for a long time,” he said.
Read more Hundreds celebrate Juneteenth in Salt Lake City
“It was just a blur. The whole day of the meet, everything.”
One by one, the athletes Barton had just defeated walked over and leaned down to congratulate him.
Fast friends
“The decathlon is so unlike other events,” he said. “You are with these competitors for two straight days. You actually become really good friends with them.
“I’ve competed against a lot of those guys in past competitions. They were just really happy for me. I have no idea what they said to me. It was all a blur.”
Eventually, Barton got back up on his feet and the blur has since dissipated. A week removed from the moment and ahead of Father’s Day, the future dentist is seeing things more clearly. He’s also back on the job at home.
“Now I’m on extra diaper duty. I’m trying to make up for the lost time,” Barton said. “It feels good. It’s taken a long time to get here and it’s a surreal moment to finally accomplish what I’ve been working for.”
Running for more
Running at BYU goes beyond the trophies for Barton, who came to Provo from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. It opens a window of opportunity to proselyte his faith differently from the mission years in Reno, Nevada, and overseas in Hungary and Romania.
“That was a huge reason why I wanted to run for BYU, because it is associated with (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). The church and the gospel mean so much to me,” he said.
“Being able to interact with other people and hopefully have a positive influence and have them see that as coming from the church in some way has meant a lot to me.”
Barton is learning quickly that being a champion means a lot to everybody.
“We had a plumber come today and he said, ‘Congratulations on the national championship!’”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com
Read more Opinion: It’s time to heal the hidden wounds of men