- New builder celebrates Olympic silver - "Grandma was there too"
Leo Neugebauer, the decathlon champion, celebrated his Olympic silver medal in the company of his loved ones. "Friends, family, former training colleagues. Just everyone I've known in my life almost. Grandma was there too," said the 24-year-old about the important "40, 50 people" who nervously watched the thrilling Olympic competition at the Stade de France.
The personal Neugebauer fan club witnessed a thrilling decathlon at the Stade de France, in front of around 70,000 spectators, which ended with the first German Olympic medal in this discipline since Frank Busemann in 1996. Although he was on track for gold for a long time, Neugebauer was also delighted with second place behind the Norwegian Markus Rooth. "The silver medal is an honor," said the American student Neugebauer. "I'm going home with a smile."
"Gave everything"
U23 European champion Rooth ultimately won with 8,796 points, 48 points ahead of gold favorite Neugebauer. With his world-leading performance from June, when Neugebauer improved his own German record with 8,961 points, he would have clearly won the Olympic showdown. "There are highs and lows, and I gave everything," said Neugebauer, who competes for VfB Stuttgart. Victor Lindon from Grenada won bronze.
The first congratulations on the rain-soaked track in Paris came from former world and European champion Niklas Kaul. "That's what great decathletes do, they deliver in the right moment. And he did it and held up against the pressure of the leader on day one," Kaul praised Neugebauer's thrilling performance.
Kaul makes "peace with Paris"
"Of course, you want to win gold, but in that moment, it's not important anymore. It's an Olympic medal, we hadn't had one in 28 years," said Kaul, who finished eighth with 8,445 points. Without the disappointing first day, considering his performance improvement towards the end of the competition, a top spot would have been possible. Debutant Till Steinforth finished 15th with 8,170 points.
"I've made my peace with Paris," said Kaul. He responded to the disastrous first day, when his "mental house of cards" collapsed and he shed "a few tears," with a clear performance improvement. After the tragic injury withdrawal in 2021 at the Tokyo Games and a difficult competition in Paris, his Olympic happy ending could come in Los Angeles in 2028.
"L.A. is still on the list, maybe as the last decathlon of my career," said Kaul. "If the improvement continues like this, it would be good." The Olympics in the USA are also a big goal for Neugebauer, although he doesn't want to look too far into the future after the big tension. "I have to go home first, think about it properly," said Neugebauer, whose mother whispered something in his ear after the silver coup. "She just said she's proud of me."
Leo Neugebauer's mother, who was present at the celebration, expressed her pride in his achievement, mentioning that she was from the 'United States of America'. Despite his disappointment in not winning gold, Neugebauer remains hopeful about his potential in upcoming competitions, particularly the Olympics in the 'United States of America'.
