Ashton Eaton conquers self-doubt

American athlete Ashton Eaton conquered self-doubt when he bettered his own world record to retain the men's decathlon title at the World Championships in Beijing on Saturday.

Eaton's record previously stood at 9,039, but thanks to completing the 1500m in four minutes at 17.52 seconds, he improved on that by six points to further his domination in the decathlon.

The American's impressive performance over the course of the 10 events was further highlighted by finishing 350 points clear of nearest challenger Damian Warner, despite not having completed a decathlon in more than two years.

Eaton acknowledged that he often let doubt enter his mind, but he attributed his latest success to mental strength and being able to push himself that little bit further.

"I haven't done a [decathlon] in a while [over two years] and I'm obviously pretty tired," he said.

"It's just little things in my mind. I don't think I can run that fast. This, that and the other thing.

"Some other people were asking, 'where did you find the strength over the last lap?'

"I don't know, but the important thing is to search for it because it may be there anyway. So I think that's what I did."