Trey Hardee Bio: In His Own Words – Video Exclusive, Photos, News, Age

Trey Hardee Biography

Trey Hardee, born in Birmingham, Ala., is known best for his silver medal-winning performance as a decathlete at the 2012 Olympic Games.

The son of Jim Hardee and Jan DiCesare, Hardee didn’t always have a penchant for track-and-field – he joined the team in high school only after failing to make it onto the varsity basketball team his junior year.

Hardee was recruited by Mississippi State as a pole-vaulter and began attending in 2002. While there, he finished second in the 2004 NCAA decathlon. However, the university dropped its indoor track-and-field program after 2004, so Hardee transferred to the University of Texas. Despite the transfer, Hardee didn’t miss a beat — he went on to win the 2005 NCAA decathlon championship and came in third in the heptathlon final. He set the NCAA decathlon record with a score of 8,465 points in 2006 (he beat this record at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, when he got 8,790 points). With that record, Hardee was named the NCAA Division I Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.

In 2008, Hardee was the runner-up at the Olympic trials and finished fourth overall at the games, losing his chance at a medal when he received a no-height score.

Trey Hardee Awards, Olympic Trials

In 2009, Hardee was awarded the Jim Thorpe All-Around Award for his achievements by the United States Sports Academy. The next year, he won a silver medal in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in the heptathlon – Hardee finished 20 points behind the winner, Bryan Clay.

In 2011, at the World Championships in Athletics, Hardee maintained his world decathlon title, earning 8,607 points and defeating fellow American decathlete Ashton Eaton

As in 2008, Hardee finished second in the 2012 Olympic trials, making the team again. On August 9, he won the silver medal against Eaton. This was the US’s first pair of 1-2 finalists in over 50 years of the Olympic Games. To prepare himself and keep focused, Hardee told uInterview exclusively that he thought of every possible scenario that could occur in the stadium. “Mental rehearsal of any given scenario on every event, whether that’s the wind, the rain, the competitors, how I’m feeling, what else is going on, I kind of run myself through any and every scenario, so that when the time comes and I’m actually in the moment, I’ve already rehearsed what’s happening and what’s about to happen,” Hardee said.

Trey Hardee Olympic Prep

Hardee’s diet plan during the 2012 Olympics was nothing strenuous, he shared with uInterview. Still, he kept it healthy while training and saved splurges for afterwards. “I eat a lot of pistachios, so I probably won’t stray too far from those. I really like red and green peppers — I can put those on anything,” Hardee told uInterview. “And probably quinoa. Quinoa is something I can put on anything, and it just takes on that flavor. Packed with nutrients, carbs and protein, just all-around healthy. The one thing I’m going to splurge on after the Olympics … Oh goodness, I think I might beeline it to McDonald’s after the Olympics.”

In terms of exercise, Hardee would work out 5-6 times a week and go hard. “My workout regimen consists of weight room stuff every morning, at 7:30 in the morning to about 10:30 or 11:00,” Hardee told uInterview of his Olympic training routine. “Then a quick lunch, and then back out on the track at around 1:00 until about 5:00 or 5:30 in the evening, with running, throwing, jumping, technical sessions. That’s five days a week, and then on the six-day, all I do is run in the mornings, and then I have the seventh day to rest.”

Hardee was proud to represent the U.S. in the Olympic Games, but was also very aware of what came with the responsibility of wearing the U.S. uniform. “Going abroad, and stepping into an Olympic setting, where the whole world is watching, and you’re in a stadium and it’s 80-100,000 people; it’s really tough to describe. It’s almost an arrogant crime,” Hardee told uInterview. “You know you represent the greatest country in the world and you’re there to prove it, you’re there to show off, you’re there to represent your country the best you can.”

Trey Hardee Dating, Personal Life

Hardee plans to compete in the next Olympics and go for the gold – and get on the Wheaties box. Hardee is currently engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Chelsea Johnson.

He was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2018.

Hardee attempted to make the Olympic team for the third time in 2016 but was unsuccessful due to injury. He attended the Olympics as a television analyst for NBC Sports.

Johnson and Hardee tied the knot on September 13, 2014.

They had their first child daughter Francesca “Frankie” Nora, born on December 5, 2016.

They welcomed their second daughter, Penelope June Hardee, on  January 18, 2019.

On October 7, 2020, the couple had their third child, Miles.

He also was an on-air analyst for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, the 2016 US Olympic Track and Field trials in Eugene, and the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, 2020/21 Tokyo Olympic Games.