Ashton Eaton not only put up the performance of day two of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, he likely achieved the performance of the entire competition.

Day two of the men's decathlon kicked off Saturday morning and it soon become clear something special might be brewing.

Despite putting up the second best mark ever for a first day of decathlon, Eaton has traditionally struggled with the throws-heavy second portion of the competition.

Eaton started the day with a solid 13.70 second win in the 110 meter hurdles followed by a best throw of 140 feet, 5 inches (42.81 meters) in the discus, but it wasn't until a personal best leap of 17 feet, 4 1/2 inches in the pole vault spurred discussion of a world record.

Eaton responded to the pressure in the javelin with a  throw of 58.87 meters, besting his previous mark of 57.23 set last year in Chula Vista, Calif. 

Once that happened, Eaton need to run just over 4:16 in the 1500 meters to break the world record. Eaton fell off record pace through 1100 meters and needed a 64 second final quarter to eclipse the mark of 9026 points held by Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic.

That's when the magic of Hayward Field lifted Eaton to a 62.26 second last lap to run 4:14.48 and set a new decathlon world record of 9039 points. In a remarkable moment, race leader Curtis Beach of Duke stepped aside on the final straightaway to allow Eaton to finish the race in first pace.

A truly historic day at Hayward Field. Let's all soak it in.