Claston Bernard - FILE
JAMAICA'S MAURICE SMITH was one of two athletes to break national decathlon records in 2005.
Smith, along with Qi Haifeng who set a new Chinese record of 8,290, have also joined the list of 19 athletes to score over 8,000 points in the combined event.
Only 19 athletes scored more than 8,000 points during the 2005 season, compared to 33 in 2004, and 22 in 2003.
Smith tallied 8,232 points in San Juan last May to break Claston Bernard's nine-month Jamaican record of 8,225 points.
Smith who went above 8,000 points for the first time in April last year while representing Auburn University, represented Jamaica at this year's World Championships in Helsinki and last year's Athens Olympic Games.
Smith, who was the 1999 CARIFTA Games heptathlon champion in Martinique, and won the Junior Pan American bronze medal in Florida that same year, ended the year as the eighth-best decathlon athlete.
The Americans lead the way with 19 athletes in the world's 19 top-100. France are second with nine and Germany third with eight. Jamaica's Claston Bernard with 7,877 points is 29th.
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