Ayden Owens-Delerme (born 28 May 2000) is a Puerto Rican

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

. He finished fourth at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

Professional

Despite being born and raised in the United States, Owens-Delerme represents 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

decathlon in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, 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 Kevin Mayer (, or , born 10 February 1992) is a French Sport of athletics, athlete. He is two-time world champion (2017 World Championships in Athletics – Men's decathlon, 2017, 2022 World Athletics Championships – Men's decathlon, 2022), ...

and others, eventually finishing 4th.

NCAA

Owens-Delerme was a grad of North Allegheny before attending

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

where he was named 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and then

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

where he earned 2021 Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year, before transferring to the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as 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 with a BS Biomedical Engineering from

in 2021 and graduated from University of Arkansas Walton College of Business MBA program in 2023. Owens-Delerme is a 9-time

NCAA Division 1 NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n, 3-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Champion, 2-time

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

Champion, 1-time

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Champion, 1-time

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

Champion, and 17-time All-Conference finalist.

Prep

Owens is 2018 Gatorade Pennsylvania Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Owens-Delerme concluded his prep career ranked Top 10 nationally in seven different track events.
Owen is a 2018

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. The PIAA's main ...

state champion in the 110 meters hurdles (13.69), 300 meters hurdles (36.68), 200 meters and finished second in the long jump representing

North Allegheny Senior High School North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH) is a suburban high school in the North Allegheny School District and is located in Wexford, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The current building was built in 1974. In 2013, e ...

Seth Grove Stadium Seth Grove Stadium is a stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. The stadium is named for the late J. Seth Grove, former faculty member and coach at Shippensburg. The stadium was built in 1972 and has a capa ...

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan St ...

. At the 2018 PIAA Class AAA meet, Owens-Delerme won three events and finished second in another, single-handedly winning the state title for North Allegheny.
Owens is a four-time New Balance National All-American and won the 2018 New Balance indoor 60 meters hurdles title with a state-record time of 7.59 and was the decathlon champion at the 2017

New Balance Nationals Outdoor The New Balance Nationals Outdoor is a high school track and field meet in the United States. Since 1990, the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation has organized a national invitational championship meet in the United States and has been the host ...

Early life

Born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania, Owens-Delerme first came to broad recognition as a multi-sport athlete at statewide athletic powerhouse North Allegheny in suburban

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

. Michael Owens, Ayden Owens-Delerme's father, captained the 1980

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team at

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

.Ayden Owens Arkansas Razorbacks bio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens-Delerme, Ayden 2000 births Living people Puerto Rican male track and field athletes Male track and field athletes of insular areas of the United States 21st-century Puerto Rican people Puerto Rican decathletes Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Pittsburgh USC Trojans men's track and field athletes Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes University of Michigan alumni University of Arkansas alumni