Kyle Garland (born May 28, 2000) is an American decathlete. He won the bronze medal in the decathlon at the 2025 World Championships and in the heptathlon at the 2026 World Indoor Championships. He is the third-highest scoring decathlete in American history behind Ashton Eaton and Dan O'Brien.
Prep career Garland was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his prep career at private Germantown Academy before enrolling as a student at the University of Georgia. As a senior at Germantown, Garland won the 2018 PAISAA state championships in the long jump, javelin, 300 meter hurdles, and 110 meter hurdles.
As an unattached junior athlete, Garland won gold at the 2018 USATF U20 Championships in the decathlon scoring 7562 points. He then went on to finish 7th at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships.
Collegiate career Garland earned the nickname 'The Freight Train' from University of Georgia coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert. Garland set the decathlon collegiate record and personal best score of 8720 points in finishing second at the USA World Championship Trials in June 2022. This score included six personal bests, and placed him in the top 10 for all US decathletes, the top 20 for all decathletes. Garland won the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships heptathlon title, setting an NCAA record 6,639 points, for his first collegiate title. That score was just six points from compatriot Ashton Eaton's world record.
Professional career Garland was selected to compete at the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon. Garland placed in the top 10 after the shot put, long jump and 100 meters events before ultimately finishing eleventh on his senior major championship debut, which was won by world-record holder Kevin Mayer of France. He was selected for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023.
Garland won the heptathlon at the 2025 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in New York finishing ahead of Hakim McMorris, with 6139 points. He finished second at the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis on 1 June 2025 with a tally of 8626 points. He won the decathlon at the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, becoming the third-best performer in U.S. history with 8869 points, behind only Dan O'Brien and Ashton Eaton.
On September 21, 2025, he won the decathlon bronze medal with 8703 points at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. He finished runner-up to Sander Skotheim in the season-long World Athletics Combined Events Tour for 2025.
Garland won the bronze medal in the heptathlon competing for the United States at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland. He scored 6245 points to finish behind a world-record setting Simon Ehammer and compatriot Heath Baldwin. In July, Garland placed second in the decathlon at the 2026 USA Championships behind returning champion Garrett Scantling.
International event Representing 20172017 Pan American U20 Athletics ChampionshipsTrujillo, Peru2ndDecathlon7212 points20182018 IAAF World U20 ChampionshipsTampere, Finland7thDecathlon7451 points20222022 World Athletics ChampionshipsEugene, Oregon11thDecathlon8133 points2017USATF U20 Outdoor ChampionshipsCalifornia State University Sacramento2ndDecathlon7035 points2018USATF U20 Outdoor Championships2018 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships results – Fri, June 15 – Sun, June 17, 2018 Athletic.netBloomington, Indiana1stDecathlon7562 points2021USA Olympic Trials Track and FieldUniversity of Oregon6thDecathlon8140 points2022USA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsUniversity of Arkansas2ndDecathlon8720 points
National event Representing Georgia Bulldogs2023SEC Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsLouisiana State University1stDecathlon8589 points2023 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico1stHeptathlon6639 points CR20222022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships2022 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championship results TFRRSUniversity of Oregon3rdDecathlon8333 pointsUSA Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsUniversity of Arkansas2ndDecathlon8720 points2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships2022 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championship results TFRRSBirmingham Metro CrossPlex2ndHeptathlon6200 pointsSEC Indoor Track and Field Championships2022 SEC Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championship results TFRRSTexas A&M University1stHeptathlon6205 points2021SEC Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipsTexas A&M University1stDecathlon8196 points2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsUniversity of Arkansas2ndHeptathlon6200 pointsSEC Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsUniversity of Arkansas1stHeptathlon6012 points20202020 SEC Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsTexas A&M University1stHeptathlon5856 points
Personal bests Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted. Outdoor
+Combined events Event Performance Location Date Score Decathlon Eugene July 31 – August 1, 2025 8,869 points 100 meters 10.44 Eugene July 31, 2025 989 points Long jump Tokyo September 20, 2025 1,040 points Shot put Tokyo September 20, 2025 914 points High jump Eugene June 19, 2021 963 points 400 meters 47.78 Austin June 7, 2023 920 points 110 meters hurdles 13.54 Austin June 8, 2023 1,035 points Discus throw Eugene August 1, 2025 890 points Pole vault Coral Gables April 6, 2024 880 points Javelin throw Eugene August 1, 2025 821 points 1500 meters 4:41.96 Eugene June 9, 2022 668 points Virtual Best Performance 9,134 points
Indoor
+Combined events Event Performance Location Date Score Heptathlon Albuquerque March 10–11, 2023 6,639 points 60 meters 6.86 Lubbock January 26, 2023 933 points Long jump Albuquerque March 10, 2023 1,050 points Shot put Albuquerque March 10, 2023 879 points High jump Lubbock January 26, 2023 982 points 60 meters hurdles 7.74 Albuquerque March 11, 2023 1,048 points Pole vault Albuquerque March 11, 2023 960 points 1000 meters 2:41.36 Albuquerque March 11, 2023 858 points Virtual Best Performance 6,710 points
References
External links
Kyle Garland's decathlon profile