Decathlon, Men

The men’s decathlon was almost more notable for who did not start and did not finish than for the final result. Canadian Pierce LePage won the 2023 World Championships, but he withdrew with an injury a few days before the Olympics. The two-time Olympic silver medalist 2016-2020, two-time world champion 2017-2022, and world record holder Kévin Mayer likewise opted not to compete just before the Games due to injury once again.

This left Canada’s Damian Warner, the defending gold medalist and eight-time champion at the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis, Austria, as the favorite. Another medal contender was expected to be German Leo Neugebauer, the biggest ever international decathlete at 2.01 m and 110 kg, and world leader with 8,961 points, ranking sixth on the all-time best performers list.

As expected, Warner won the 100 metres and still led after the long jump, but Neugebauer took the lead after the shot put and led at the end of the first day with 4,650 points, ahead of Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme and Norway’s Sander Skotheim, with Warner in fourth.

Warner’s speed put him back in the lead after the first event of the second day, the 110 metre hurdles, but Neugebauer’s size and strength brought him back on top after the discus throw, with Warner second and Skotheim in third. It looked like these three would battle for the medals.

But the pole vault changed everything as Warner and Skotheim both no-heighted. Warner withdrew after that while Skotheim continued but would place only 18th. Neugebauer maintained the overall lead after he cleared 5.00 metres in the vault. Norway’s Markus Rooth moved up to second by posting multiple personal bests, finishing with a clearance of 5.30 metres.

The javelin is one of Neugebauer’s worst events, despite his size, and his throw of 56.64, well off his PR, dropped him into second, 16 points behind the surprising Rooth, who led with 8,113 points going into the 1,500. Rooth had the best 1,500 PR of the contenders and he held on for the gold medal, as Neugebauer took silver. Bronze went to Grenada’s Lindon Toussaint-Victor. Rooth’s gold medal was the first gold medal for Norway in the event since Helge Løvland in 1920.