The Freight Train is right on track.
Kyle Garland is one of the most decorated and accomplished decathlon athletes in the country. And about five years ago or so, he was given the perfect nickname.
“I got the Freight Train nickname around 2021 or 2022,” said Garland, a Germantown Academy graduate who grew up about half a mile from Northeast High School. “We were doing testing and I was flying down the track. They said, ‘Move out of the way, there’s a freight train coming.’
“Kobe (Bryant) has the Mamba mentality. That’s my Mamba mentality. Freight train is my mentality.”
Garland runs exactly the way his nickname would suggest.
But he’s a lot more than that, and he’s on his way to representing the United States in the Olympics.
After an illustrious career at Germantown Academy and University of Georgia, Garland is now starring for the United States.
After setting the decathlon collegiate record in June 2022 with a personal best score of 8,720 points, he went on to win the bronze medal at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships and the bronze medal in the Heptathlon at the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland.
The decathlon consists of 10 track and field events contested over two days. They are the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1,500-meter run.
It’s not for the weak. It’s no joke.
“A decathlon weekend is two long, grueling days, about eight hours each day,” Garland said. “When I’m done, my body isn’t ready to train for about seven to 10 days. I don’t feel fully recovered until a week or a week and a half after I compete.
“It’s usually laying around, resting, not doing much other than stretching and sauna. By Wednesday, I will do a recovery workout to keep myself moving. You don’t want to tighten up. Even if you’re feeling fatigued, you want to keep moving to feel fresh.”
It’s a grueling process, and one Garland never thought he’d be competing in before he arrived at Germantown Academy.
In fact, prior to that he didn’t know what it was.
“Growing up, I was mainly track and field, I started when I was 7,” he said. “But I also played football a little bit and wrestling. I stopped after freshman year of high school and was solely on track.
“The decathlon, you don’t choose it, it chooses you. I was at a district meet. An official asked me to try it. I had no idea what it was. I got waived into the regional meet, I learned to pole vault in a weekend, learned to throw, and ended up making Junior Olympics where I finished 5th. This was 2015 when I was a freshman.”
It’s a lot.
It’s also a lot of fun, at least for Garland, who has put everything he has into becoming one of the best in the world at one of the most difficult events you can do.
“It definitely was hard at first just because so many different disciplines to get ready for. I enjoyed it so much, I was the only one in the area doing the event. It was good to stand out. It was fun. I got recruited as a decathlete. I was a high jumper and hurdler before, but now that’s what I do.”
It takes a lot of work to get to Garland’s level. When your ultimate goal is representing the United States in the Olympics, you know you’re going to have to beat the best. And that requires more than a little work.
“I probably put in at least four to six hours of track workouts a day,” Garland said. “Most of the time it’s four to five hours, between workouts and weightroom stuff. Actually athletic specific. But after that, you have treatments that will take three or four hours. I’m always doing work.”
He also works as a trainer, helping other athletes get closer to their dreams. While he’s doing that, he’s working on himself.
“I like training, it helps me,” Garland said. “Actually the pole vault took the longest to hone in on. It’s one of the ones that I kind of, I don’t want to say struggle, I’m 15½ to 16 pretty consistently, but more than anything, it helps with training. Learn different tactics and help people understand it, it helps me, too. If I’m telling people to do things, I have to hold myself accountable, too, when I’m doing it myself. It’s a great reminder.”
He holds himself accountable, but Garland is lucky in that he has a strong circle.
His coaches and family have guided him past more than a few finish lines, and he’s happy he can count on them.
“My coach has been a great supporter of mine,” Garland said. “But mom and dad. They’re my sponsors. They’re my supporters. They never missed one decathlon, they might have missed three or four total since I started at 7 years old. Always by my side. They have been there for it all. They are proud, it’s definitely fun to get to compete and have them with me in the stands and two, it’s my job. I get to take them around the world. That’s super exciting.” ••
