EUGENE, Ore. » Bryan Clay went down, but he’s not out.

The reigning Olympic decathlon champion, out of Castle High School and Azusa Pacific University, clipped the seventh hurdle in the opening event of the second-day program of the decathlon Friday at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He crashed to the Hayward Field track and failed to finish the race.

While it effectively ended his bid to medal at nationals, it did not end his bid to make the American team bound for the IAAF World Track and Field Championships in late August, in Daegu, Korea.

"There’s still a pretty good chance of my getting to Daegu," said the 31-year-old Clay, grimacing with a badly cut right leg and a strained calf after the mishap. "Right now, I’m still in a position to go."

University of Oregon graduate Ashton Eaton, 23, went on to win the 10-event test with a career-best total of 8,729 points, the highest mark in the world this year, the 13th best all-time and fifth best by an American.

He will join defending world champion Trey Hardee — the University of Texas alumnus who has a bye to Daegu — on the U.S. squad. And, most likely, Clay will go along with Rice graduate Jon Harlan, the second-place finisher here at 8,011.

Eaton, Hardee and Clay (who scored 8,483 in May 2010 at Gotzis, Austria) all have "A" qualifying marks of more than 8,200 points. Harlan squeezed onto the team, 11 points over the "B" standard of 8,000.

Since Clay didn’t finish the full 10-event slate, he will still have to petition USA Track and Field officials for the Daegu nomination, but that’s considered a formality.

Jake Arnold, the Arizona grad who scored 8,253 points for an "A" mark in 2010, but bowed out after three events here, might have been named for Daegu if Harlan hadn’t reached the "B" 8,011.

"I just fell, that’s it," Clay said after the hurdles smash-up. "To tell the truth, I didn’t even know what hurdle it was. I felt good, then got long (overstrided), and hit it. Really, I won’t know what happened until I see the video.

"The first half of my race went just fine. I got out (of the blocks) great. I was up there with Ashton. It went exactly as I wanted it. Then something just went funny. Everything was going great … and then it happened."

With the discus throw, seventh of the 10 decathlon events, up next, Clay returned to the Hayward Field infield to test the leg. But best he could manage with a single discus toss — from a stand, not a full spin — was 126 feet, 9 inches, and that’s when he officially called it a day, while the others went through the remaining pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters.

"I couldn’t afford to let it get any worse," Clay said. "My calf is hurting pretty good right now. So it’s back to the drawing board. Daegu is still six weeks away, plenty of time to build back. I’ve had plenty of bumps and bruises before. This is nothing new; I’ve always been able to come back.

"I know I’m not 21 anymore, and I feel it. But that doesn’t mean I’m at the end of the line, either. I’ll make the adjustments. I’ll come back. I’ve already done it so many times. And whatever happens this year, my main goal is always going to be next year. No one’s ever won three Olympic medals in the decathlon."

That target remains his major incentive. That’s what drives him. That’s why he continues telling people "my career’s not over, not by a long shot."