Lyles with gold, relay lucky
Fascinating decathlon show fuels hope for gold
08/26/2023, 00:23
Leo Neugebauer is the great medal hope of German athletes. The new German record holder in the decathlon comes up trumps at the World Championships, breaking several personal bests on the first day of the competition. In the sprint, the show belongs to Noah Lyles, albeit not with the grand finale.
With an acclaimed decathlon show, the German record holder Leo Neugebauer set his course for gold. The 23-year-old will be the leader at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Saturday, when the medal decision in the supreme discipline will be made. “My voice isn’t there as much because I’ve been screaming so much,” said Neugebauer, who is ahead of Canadians Pierce Lepage and Damian Warner. “The first day was a lot of fun.”
The emotional state of 2019 world champion and European champion Niklaus Kaul could hardly have been more different. The 25-year-old ended the decathlon prematurely in 15th place after four disciplines. First hip problems slowed him down, then he was treated for foot pain. “I’m very disappointed, I’m very angry with myself and my body, it’s just super shit,” said Kaul. “But I think it was the right decision, even if it’s painful.” At the Olympics in Tokyo two years ago, Kaul was over on the first day due to foot problems. Visibly struck, he left the interior.
Just fun”
The stage around the stadium belonged first and foremost to Noah Lyles. The US star triumphed eight years after Usain Bolt as the first athlete over 100 meters and 200 meters. Five days after being crowned sprint king, Lyles successfully defended his 200-meter title in 19.52 seconds, his third consecutive gold medal over the distance. In the women’s category, defending champion Shericka Jackson (Jamaica/21.41) prevailed. 100m World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson (USA/21.92) finished third behind her compatriot Gabrielle Thomas (21.81).
Before the race, Lyles had already squinted at the 14-year-old world record of Jamaica’s sprint legend Bolt (19.19). Ultimately, however, the American was 33 hundredths of a second short of the best time set in Berlin in 2009.
But the fans were allowed to marvel at “Leo The German” all day long. After five disciplines with 4640 points, he is still 49 points ahead of his German record at the beginning of June. He improved Jürgen Hingsen’s national record of almost four decades to 8836 points, which is also documented by the T-shirts of his personal fans. “My family and friends can finally watch because I’ve had most of the competitions in America,” said Neugebauer, who studies in Texas. “They have fun, I have fun – just great.”
Neugebauer, who quickly became the darling of the public, repeatedly started cheering runs. “Super-happy” made him break the 8-meter mark in the long jump. The 2022 World Cup tenth found the ball width of 17.04 meters “fantastic”. After these two personal bests, he stayed close to his previous top performances in the high jump and the 100 meters at the start. In 47.99 seconds over 400 meters, he was clearly ahead of the best time, but then waved his thanks to the audience. “Dude, Leo is going crazy,” marveled European javelin champion Julian Weber, who certainly qualified for the final on Sunday. Neugebauer and Weber are the biggest medal trumps of the German Athletics Association, which is still without a medal a year after Eugene’s great disappointment at the World Championships in Budapest. At his World Championship premiere, Manuel Eitel occupied twelfth place in the decathlon with 4296 points. World record holder Kevin Mayer no longer has a chance of winning a medal. The Frenchman pulled out due to Achilles tendon problems.
Men seven relay, women in luck
The men’s sprint relay over 4×100 meters after the heats is also no longer there. Joshua Hartmann, who started too late, also lost the baton. He “took sole responsibility”. After a jury decision, however, the women’s relay with Gina Lückenkemper can have a say about the medals. The quartet with Louise Wieland, Sina Mayer, Lückenkemper and Rebekka Haase subsequently qualified in 42.78 seconds as the ninth season for the decision on Saturday (9.50 p.m./ARD and Eurosport). The German Athletics Association had successfully lodged a protest because the starting runner Wieland was touched by the arm of the Australian Bree Masters immediately before the change to Mayer and was thus prevented from handing over the baton.
On Sunday (8.20 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport) In addition to Neugebauer, Julian Weber could also ensure a German medal, but the European javelin champion has to improve for that. The man from Mainz missed the direct qualification, but with 82.39 m he is lying in wait as the fourth best in the prelim. “I approached it pretty relaxed, maybe a little too relaxed,” admitted Weber: “I would have liked to have thrown a little further, but I’ll save that for Sunday.” In addition, Weber’s spears have not yet arrived in Budapest. He doesn’t know where they went to.