Olympic athlete inches closer to surpassing the speed limit.
Leo Neugebauer, a promising German decathlete and Olympic hopeful, is on a mission to surpass the 9000-point mark in his career. He's currently competing at the college championships in the US, where he hopes to set a new German record. In order to achieve this, he had to forego participating in the European Championships.
Leo Neugebauer is making a strong case for himself as he leads after the first day of competition at the championships in Eugene with an astonishing 4685 points. This impressive score surpasses his previous best by 94 points, which he also holds as the current German record.
On the first day, Neugebauer achieved three personal bests. In the long jump, he leapt further than ever before at 7.86 meters. The shot put saw him throw 17.46 meters, and he cleared 2.07 meters in the high jump - both personal records. He also recorded the 100 meters in 10.64 seconds and completed the 400 meters in 48.03 seconds, albeit slightly slower than his previous record.
"I'm really happy. I tried to run a little faster, but my legs just didn't cooperate. I can't complain," said Neugebauer, who is considered a major German contender for the Olympics. In the summer of 2023, he broke the old German record of 8836 points set by Jürgen Hingsen in 1986. To date, only four decathletes have ever scored over 9000 points: Kevin Mayer (9126), Ashton Eaton (9045), Roman Sebrle (9026), and Damian Warner (9018).
The 23-year-old US student, who studies and trains in Austin at the University of Texas, has given up the European Championships to prioritize the US competition. In recent weeks, Neugebauer proved what he's capable of when he broke the old German indoor record in the heptathlon with 6347 points, now holding both German bests in the multi-event records.
[Images]
- Long Jump: 7.86 meters
- Shot Put: 17.46 meters
- High Jump: 2.07 meters
- 100 meters: 10.64 seconds
- 400 meters: 48.03 seconds
- College Championships Day 1: 4685 points
- German Record: 4685 points
- Previous Best (from a year ago): 4591 points
- European Record: 6347 points (heptathlon)
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Leo Neugebauer, with his impressive performance at the championships, is increasing his chances of representing Germany in the Athletics event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. If he continues to improve and surpass his current record, he could become one of the few decathletes to score over 9000 points at the Olympics.
