- Newcomers in the tenth-place match at halftime on gold
German Decathlete Leo Neugebauer is on track for gold at the halfway point of the Olympic Games in Paris. The world's best leads the competition at the Stade de France with 4,650 points.
The 24-year-old has a 42-point lead over Ayden Owens-Delerme from Puerto Rico and a 62-point lead over Norwegian European Championships silver medalist Sander Skotheim. Olympic champion Damian Warner from Canada is in fourth place with 4,561 points.
"This stadium is crazy. It's an honor to compete here," Neugebauer said in the ARD. "I can't complain. I had a good time (in the 400 meters), delivered very good performances."
Like Holdorf and Schenk?
In the final 400-meter run on Friday, Neugebauer was pleased with his season-best time of 47.70 seconds. He raised his arms and blew kisses towards the tribune. At the beginning of June, Neugebauer set a German record of 4,685 points, which he is just shy of in Saint-Denis.
Neugebauer has a good chance of winning the first German decathlon medal in 28 years. Back then, Frank Busemann won silver. After Willi Holdorf in 1964 and Christian Schenk in 1988, Neugebauer could become the third German to win Olympic gold.
As the world number one, Neugebauer is the top candidate for gold. At last year's World Championships in Budapest, he fell from first place to fifth at the halfway point. "I will learn from my mistakes and then we'll see what I can do tomorrow," he said. For now, recovery is the focus.
Kaul loses ground
For former world and European champion Niklas Kaul, medals are far away, despite having his strengths on the second day. The 26-year-old from USC Mainz struggled in the first half of the decathlon: 4,041 points put him in 20th place. Interestingly, Kaul's 400-meter run was delayed and started after a request for silence due to the next gold medal win by swimming star Léon Marchand in the stadium. "Overall, it just didn't run well. I don't quite know why," Kaul said.
Late addition Till Steinforth is doing well. After five events, Steinforth has 4,336 points and is in 12th place. The 22-year-old multi-event athlete from SV Halle is replacing the recently withdrawn Manuel Eitel.
After the withdrawal of French decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer, compatriot Makenson Gletty comes into focus. The European bronze medalist is in 10th place with 4,381 points, just before the halfway point.
In the rich decathlon history of Germany, Leo Neugebauer has the potential to become the third Olympic gold medalist, following in the footsteps of Willi Holdorf in 1964 and Christian Schenk in 1988. Despite France being the host nation for these Olympic Games, Neugebauer's strong performance puts him in a position to challenge for the top spot, making France an important country to watch in this event.
