By BOB BAUM -- The Associated Press
 SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Chris Huffins seemed almost as upset about Dan O'Brien's injury as O'Brien was.

 Huffins has never beaten O'Brien in the decathlon. He figured the U.S. Olympic track and field trials would be his best shot.

 Now, with O'Brien almost certainly out with a foot injury, Huffins becomes the overwhelming favorite when the 10-event competition begins Thursday, and the best hope for a U.S. medal in the event at the Sydney Games.

 Although the stakes are higher, the situation is not new to Huffins. Because of injuries, O'Brien has competed in one decathlon since his gold- medal performance at the Atlanta Games.

 "The funny thing is, because I have been competing every year, I've been kind of carrying the mantle for U.S. decathlon in his stead, so to speak," Huffins said.

 A 100-meter and long-jump specialist before he convinced his coach at California to let him try the decathlon in 1991, Huffins has improved steadily to rank among the world's best.

 He won the U.S. championship the last two years, and last year won the gold medal at the Pan American Games and the bronze at the world championships. His personal best of 8,694 points was set at the U.S. championships in 1998.

 That's a considerable distance behind the world record of 8,894, set by Tomas Dvorak of the Czech Republic last year, and O'Brien's 8,891 set in 1992, a score that stood as a world mark for nine years.

 But Huffins, 30, knows he is among the few competitors who are expected to contend for a medal in Sydney.

 "If you look back at the world rankings all the way back to 1996, give or take one or two people, it's been the same people every year," he said. "It's probably not going to change between now and then. In the end, the same five or six people will be battling for the same three spots."

 Huffins, who earned his degree in political economies of industrial societies at California, is a devoted student of his sport. He owns hundreds of track videos and is an assistant coach at Wake Forest, with plans to become a full-time coach when he retires from competition. No one will outthink him on the track.

 Barring injury, or the kind of disaster that befell O'Brien when he failed to clear a qualifying height at the 1992 trials, Huffins would seem a certainty for the U.S. team.

 Still, he indicated this would mean so much more if O'Brien were in the competition.

 "Physically and mentally I've been preparing for a long time for this day, where I felt like I was at my best and the only decathlete on this planet I've never beaten was at his best, and we would go at it," Huffins said.

 Now he must forget all about O'Brien.

 "Now we have 16 competitors, and the fact that the one guy who's missing is named Dan O'Brien really can't make a difference" he said. "It really didn't matter whether he competed or not, but I have to be in one of the top three spots to go to Sydney."

 Huffins wouldn't say who he thinks his toughest competitors will be, but O'Brien has his favorites.

 "Chris, Brophy and Janvrin would be an interesting team to go to the Games," O'Brien said. "I'd love to see Kip Janvrin and Brian Brophy get on the team, along with Chris, because they've been through so much.

 "Kip and I were at the high school national championships together in 1984, and Brian and I have been competing against each other since 1990, so I'm rooting for the old guys."