“I feel fantastic,” Leo Neugebauer told the crowd over the PA system in the National Stadium in Tokyo on Sunday. Just moments earlier, the German decathlete had dragged himself over the finish line in the final event of the decathlon, the 1,500 meters. He staggered through the final few meters before collapsing to the ground as the new world decathlon champion.
Neugebauer was so exhausted that he briefly accepted the offer of taking a seat in a wheelchair. However, he soon stood up again – taking to the podium to receive the gold medal, fulfilling a long-held dream.
‘Roller-coaster ride’
This was the 25-year-old’s first major title, and it came a year after he’d won Olympic silver at the Paris Games.
“I can honestly say that this season has really been a rollercoaster ride; I didn’t expect to win gold. I’m mega happy,” Neugebauer told German public television.
The road to this success was indeed a bumpy one. At the German Championships in Dresden at the beginning of August, Neugebauer only competed in six disciplines in order to focus on his technique. At a key decathlon meeting in Austria in June, he had only managed a fifth-place finish.
A completely exhausted Leo Neugebauer briefly rested in a wheelchairImage: Axel Kohring/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/picture alliance
After last year’s Olympic silver, Neugebauer had to learn to deal with the increased pressure of expectation and media attention – something he said made this season “very busy,” with little time to relax.
There had been considerable doubt as to whether he would be in top form in time for the World Athletics Championships. The javelin had been giving him particular problems – but he overcame them just in time for Tokyo.
Neugebauer hadn’t been the favorite for the title, but the German record holder was in top form in Japan. With a stellar performance in the discus throw (56.15 meters) and, for him, very strong results in the javelin (64.34 meters) and in the 1,500 meters (4:31.89 minutes), he sealed the win in dramatic fashion.
Finally, a German gold medal
Neugebauer prevailed by just 20 points over silver medalist Ayden Owens-Delerme of Puerto Rico – the narrowest margin of victory in the history of decathlon at the World Championships. Kyle Garland of the USA, who was leading for a while, secured bronze, while another German, 2019 champion Niklas Kaul, finished fourth after a strong finish.
Neugebauer gave Germany their first and only gold medal on the final day of the World Championships – with the third-best decathlon performance of his career.
Benefitting from the US college sports system
Neugebauer’s rise to join the world’s elite in the sport is due in no small part to his move to the United States. The Stuttgart native has been studying and training at the University of Texas at Austin for several years. There, he profits from state-of-the-art training facilities, an experienced coaching team, and the opportunity to combine his studies with elite college competition.
Leo Neugebauer attends the University of Austin in Texas Image: Larry C. Lawson/Newscom/picture alliance
“I wanted to develop myself both athletically and personally,” Neugebauer once said when asked about his decision to move to the United States.
In Austin, he not only made great strides athletically, but also learned how to handle pressure and compete at the highest level. Competing at the college level has toughened him up – and made him a world champion.
Error-prone competitors
After Kaul and Torsten Voss, who won gold for East Germany in Rome in 1987, Neugebauer is only the third world decathlon champion from Germany. Neugebauer was also helped by the misfortunes of his top rival, Sander Skotheim of Norway.
Skotheim, who had arrived in Japan as the world No 1, stumbled over the hurdles at the start of the second day of competition, then knocked over an obstacle with his hands – and was thus disqualified.
Sander Skotheim was disqualified during the 110 metres hurdles for pushing a hurdleImage: Petr David Josek/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance
Many of the other contenders had their own struggles – including Neugebauer who had complained of knee problems at the end of the first day of competition.
However, his perseverance and his mindset of taking things “one discipline at a time” was rewarded, as it was Neugebauer who best managed to limit his errors.
Still just 28 for 2028 Games
Having won World Championship gold and Olympic silver, what could be next for Neugebauer?
“I have no idea,” he said with a laugh.
“I can approach the upcoming seasons with a relaxed attitude as I’ve already achieved so much, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
The next obvious goal has to be Olympic gold at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. By then, he’ll still be just 28 – a prime age for a decathlete.
This article was originally published in German.
Edited by: Jonathan Harding
