Dhe German track and field got a new star overnight. The 22-year-old Swabian Leo Neugebauer improved the 39-year-old German record in the decathlon set by Jürgen Hingsen at the American student championships at his place of study in Austin (Texas). With best performances in five disciplines, he came up with 8836 points – four more than Hingsen achieved in 1984.
This makes the LG Leinfelden-Echterdingen athlete, who has been on a scholarship from the University of Texas as an economics student since 2019, the strongest decathlete of the season and suddenly one of the favorites for the World Championships in Budapest next August. Only eight athletes have scored more points than Neugebauer in the history of the decathlon.
“The most emotional moment of my life”
The Swabian’s performance curve is incomparably steep. In March 2022 he surpassed the 8000 point mark for the first time, and at the World Championships in Eugene (Oregon) in July he finished tenth with 8182 points. He had previously scored 8362 points. Eleven weeks ago, he increased his personal best to 8478 points, meeting the norm for the World Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
During the winner’s interview with the American student association, Neugebauer seemed completely overwhelmed by his performance: “I can’t even realize it yet. It’s going to take me a few days.” Explaining his unusual improvement, he said, “I’m at my peak physically, I’ve had no injuries and no discomfort in months.” And then the Austin venue, his training facility, spurred him on: “It means the world for me that I could compete in front of my family, my friends, my training colleagues and my acquaintances.”
Leo Neugebauer celebrates after his coup.
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Image: AP
And there he promptly managed an almost perfect decathlon. Over 100 meters he screwed his record (10.87) down by more than two tenths of a second in 10.61 seconds, in the long jump he landed at 7.68 meters with a slightly too strong tailwind, he shot the ball 16.66 meters wide. After 2.04 meters in the high jump, he pulverized his 400-meter record in 47.08 seconds.
He had never run the course faster than 48.21 seconds before. The second day was just as outstanding for him. He started with a wind-assisted 14.10 seconds over 110 meters hurdles. In the discus throw he managed 55.06 meters, then he crossed 5.21 meters in the pole vault. “It was the most emotional moment of my life for me. I never cry, but once I landed, I couldn’t control myself. Because at that moment it was clear that I would win the competition.”
At that moment, Neugebauer was not yet thinking about the German record. He only came within reach when he had managed a distance of 57.45 meters in the javelin throw. An increase of more than four meters. “Up until a week ago it didn’t work at all with the javelin, but suddenly it clicked in training and I knew what I had to do,” said Neugebauer. After 4:48.00 minutes over 1500 meters it was finally clear: After 39 years, Jürgen Hingsen has lost his record.
The silver medalist from 1984 in Los Angeles was informed by a journalist and initially assumed world and European champion Niklas Kaul to be the new record holder. The student from Texas, who beat Kaul’s record by 145 points, was not on his radar. “Of course I’m really happy, but you’re also a bit sad. I would have liked to have cracked the 40 years,” said the 65-year-old Hingsen not quite seriously. Neugebauer was only made aware by his coach that he had improved the German record. His reaction: “That makes me the greatest in history in the whole country. I still can’t believe it.”