“I just can’t”
German gold hope missing suitcase with spikes
08/23/2023, 4:55 p.m
Unlike a sprinter, a decathlete also needs ten pairs of shoes. If you then have a size 48.5/49, it will be difficult to take your work clothes in your hand luggage. That’s how Leo Neugebauer feels. The German hope for a medal at the World Championships in Athletics is missing its spikes.
Two days before the start of the decathlon at the World Championships in Budapest, shooting star Leo Neugebauer is still waiting for his suitcase with his spikes. A suitcase has now been sent “with my important contact lenses” and other personal things, said Neugebauer. But the second suitcase with the competition shoes is still missing. However, Neugebauer’s parents will be arriving on Thursday, who will “bring a new set with them”: “I’ll have everything I need for the competition there.”
Baggage is more complicated for decathletes than for sprinters, for example. Because they need ten pairs for ten disciplines. “I have shoe size 48.5/49. They don’t all fit in hand luggage,” said Neugebauer. The much smaller Manuel Eitel then joked: “They would have fit in my hand luggage.” According to the association, numerous employees are busy organizing the luggage for the athletes. The luggage of 40 people did not arrive from the whole machine, reported head trainer Annett Stein. It also affected other nations.
Neugebauer, who traveled to Hungary as number one in the world with his new German record of 8836 points, is annoyed about the false start to the World Cup through no fault of his own. “I think something like that just doesn’t work,” said the 23-year-old. He and other athletes were already on the plane in Munich, “and then suddenly there was no crew to bring the luggage onto the plane. It’s funny that something like this can happen at all”. Nevertheless, Neugebauer is looking forward to his start on Friday. “I do my thing,” said the gold candidate, his goal is: “Go out, have fun and show what I’ve got.”