‘Blessed’ Journey Leads Delaney Straus to Women’s Decathlon World Championship

The Women’s Decathlon World Championship draws closer as Delaney Straus makes her final preparations. If Delaney had to describe her journey in one word, it would be “blessed.”

She’s coming off her junior year at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, where she competed at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. There, she finished seventh in the heptathlon, earning her second All-American accolade—making her the first female in C-SC history to receive All-American honors twice in track and field. She’s also a two-time defending Heart of America Athletic Conference champion.

But for Delaney, “it has been nonstop,” as Culver-Stockton Head Track and Field Coach Hunter Davis put it.

The Women’s Decathlon World Championship will be held August 16–17 at the Olympic Training Center in Geneva, Ohio, featuring top female athletes from around the world. This marks just the second year of the event, following its 2024 debut. The decathlon includes ten events: 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter dash, discus throw, 110-meter hurdles, pole vault, javelin throw, and the 1500-meter run. For Delaney, two of those events—pole vault and discus—are completely new.

“You know I’ve never done pole vault, right?” Delaney recalled, thinking back to when Coach Davis first approached her about competing in the decathlon. His response: “We’ll figure it out. You’ll be fine.”

Along with learning the pole vault, she also had to pick up the discus.

“We weren’t worried—and we were right,” said Coach Davis. “Pole vault though—that’s been a journey. We tried it last year over spring break, and it’s coming along.”

Delaney emphasized that her journey has truly been a blessing.

“I truly believe God has a plan for everything,” she said. “My dad got me into running as a kid, and then we had coaches like Mr. Dale Gosney in junior high who really encouraged me. Marion County didn’t always have a strong track program, but we made it work. I applied to a few schools and didn’t hear back from many. Then Culver reached out. My mom, uncle, and sister all went there, so I figured—why not? One thing led to another, and here we are. You just follow God’s plan and trust that He’ll work it out.”

Delaney also spoke about the overwhelming support she’s received from her home community of Philadelphia, Missouri, in Marion County.

“It’s been amazing. I come from a really small town, and everyone’s been checking in—texting, commenting, asking questions. It’s so cool that they still care and haven’t forgotten about me. I can’t wait to come back and tell them all how it went.”

Coach Davis added, “The good news is, most of the fundraising is taken care of. She’s from a small town, her family is well-known and well-loved, and people stepped up. We raised what we needed in about six days. She even got a couple of sponsorship-style deals—nothing formal through the college, but definitely support.”

Since this isn’t an official Culver-Stockton event, the school won’t be posting updates from its accounts.

“Instead,” Davis explained, “I’ll be posting updates on my own pages—Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. We’ll have teammates coming with us to help film and get clips out there.”

He continued, “The biggest thing is, follow along. We’re not stopping with this event. We’re talking about Delaney representing the U.S. on the biggest stage in 2028 or even 2032. This is a long-term journey. She might not always be wearing a Culver jersey, but she’ll always be representing the school and this community.”

All info for the event and schedule can be found here.