Tears after decathlon record
German student breaks “eternal” record
06/09/2023 10:36 am
Leo Neugebauer achieved a historic feat in the decathlon in the USA: The college student broke a 39-year-old German record and set seven personal bests in the ten disciplines. Then he “can’t believe it at all”.
College student Leo Neugebauer has broken the German decathlon record set by former Olympic silver medalist Jürgen Hingsen. The 22-year-old from the University of Texas scored 8,836 points at the NCAA Division Championships in Austin, four points better than Hingsen in 1984. Only eight athletes in the history of the decathlon have scored more points than Neugebauer. After his success, the student burst into tears on the running track.
At the end of March, Neugebauer, who starts for the LG Leinfelden-Echterdingen, met the norm for the World Cup in Budapest (19th to 27th August) and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with a personal best of 8478 points. Now the World Cup tenth from 2022 has increased again, breaking the previous college record.
“It feels incredible. I’m overjoyed to have won here in Austin with a record,” said Neugebauer. His trainer told him that he had also broken Hingsen’s record. “That makes me the greatest in history in the whole country. I still can’t believe it,” said Neugebauer.
Seven personal bests
Neugebauer also achieved seven personal bests. He started his decathlon with a new best time of 10.61 seconds in the 100 meter dash. He was the fastest in the field of 24 participants. He later finished third in the long jump with a new personal best of 7.68 meters and had the second-best throw in the shot put at 16.27 meters.
Neugebauer then took first place in the high jump with a height of 2.04 meters and tied for first place. With this height, the Texas decathlon record holder set a new season best. He finished the fifth and final competition of the first day with a personal best in the 400 meters (47.08 seconds, beating his old best by one second).
Neugebauer started the second day of competition with a season best time of 14.10 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles. He then set his fifth personal best in the discus throw, almost surpassing the previous college decathlon best at 55.06 meters. The track and field athlete started the competition with a best long jump of 5.10 meters and surpassed it with a jump of 5.21 meters. He added another impressive personal best with a javelin throw of 57.45 meters before finishing the competition in the 1500 meter dash in 4:48.00.