The 2012 United States Olympic trials for track and field were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the ten-day competition lasted from June 21 until July 1 and served as the national championships in track and field for the United States.

The results of the event determined qualification for the American Olympic team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, to be held in London. Provided they had achieved the Olympic "A" standard, the top three athletes gained a place on the Olympic team. In the event that a leading athlete did not hold an "A" standard, or an athlete withdrew, the next highest finishing athlete with an "A" standard was selected instead.

The trials for the men's and women's marathon were held January 14 in Houston and the trials for the men's 50 km race walk were held January 22 in Santee, California. The hammer throw competitions were held at the Nike facility in Beaverton, Oregon.



Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-point barrier in the decathlon, with 9,039 points, a score he bettered on August 29, 2015, when he beat his own world record with a score of 9,045 points, and remains the only person to exceed 9000 points twice. His world record was broken by Frenchman Kevin Mayer on September 16, 2018 with a total of 9,126 points, who became the third man to pass the 9,000-point barrier.He competed for the Oregon Track Club Elite team based in Eugene, Oregon. In college, Eaton competed for the University of Oregon, where he was a five-time NCAA champion, and won The Bowerman award in 2010. In 2011, Eaton won the first international medal of his career, a silver, in the decathlon at the 2011 World Championships. The following year, Eaton broke his own world record in the heptathlon at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, and then broke the world record in the decathlon at the Olympic Trials. After setting the world record, Eaton won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He successfully defended his Olympic title in Rio 2016 by winning the decathlon gold medal and tying the Olympic record. Eaton is only the third Olympian (after Bob Mathias of the US and Great Britain's Daley Thompson) to achieve back-to-back gold medals in the decathlon.He announced his retirement from the sport just a few months later on January 3, 2017.