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Decathlete Niklas Kaul injured: In the end the wheelchair came

2021-08-04T15:49:48.762Z


Drama in the decathlon: World champion Niklas Kaul was able to set two personal bests, but he injured his foot in the high jump. He started the 400-meter run - then it was over.


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Niklas Kaul wanted a medal, after the fifth discipline the decathlon is over for the world champion

Photo:

INA FASSBENDER / AFP

He had tried: Decathlon world champion Niklas Kaul had started in the 400 meter race, the fifth and final discipline of the first day.

Clamped into the starting blocks, sprinted, ran 50 meters, 100 meters, but then you already suspected that it would soon be over.

In the middle of the second corner, Kaul slowed down after he had already been passed through to the rear.

Kaul lay down on his back and put his hands over his face, stayed where he was, grabbed his right foot.

A little later he was driven out of the interior in a wheelchair.

Kaul had injured himself in the high jump discipline.

Team doctor Andrew Lichtenthal explained what exactly had happened: "During his last jump, he compressed his take-off joint," said the doctor.

Kaul was not twisted, but: "This has developed into a swelling." They managed to control the injury to some extent.

It was agreed that Kaul should try - and if it didn't work, he should stop.

It did not work.

It is a bitter end to the Tokyo Olympic Games for Kaul, who surprisingly became world champion in this discipline in Doha in 2019.

Because actually he had started the decathlon properly.

Kaul ran the 100 meters in 11.27 seconds, five hundredths less than when he won the title.

In the long jump he even had a personal best of 7.36 meters.

»So far it has been fun«

Only the shot put had failed.

The ball only flew 14.55 meters, which was quite a bit shorter than his best distance (15.19 meters).

With 2474 points, he was now in 17th place in the overall ranking.

Nevertheless, Kaul had said: "So far it has been fun." He still had a chance to win a medal: Kaul has his strongest disciplines on the second day of the competition.

Then came the fateful discipline, the high jump.

Once again, Kaul set a personal record, moving up to 13th place in the interim ranking - it was precisely during this jump that he injured himself. "Every discipline has its pitfalls," said team doctor Lichtenthal.

When Kaul left the interior after the high jump, a bloody sock could be seen.

But this had nothing to do with the injury, because of which Kaul had to stop, reported team doctor Lindenthal.

In 2019, Kaul became King of Qatar

Kaul has been known to many Germans since 2019 at the latest, when he suddenly became the face of German athletics.

In Doha two years ago he surprisingly won the decathlon world title: King of Qatar.

He was already considered a top talent back then, but this title was a sensation, which he had made perfect thanks to his outstanding javelin throwing skills.

In that World Cup year he was also named Germany's Sportsman of the Year.

But even then it was already clear that the career doesn't have to go on like this.

The decathlon, the sport of kings, has already produced a number of injured athletes.

A bandage on the right foot

Kaul also had to struggle with injuries in the run-up to the Olympic Games, and last year he had an operation on his elbow.

Kaul had not contested a decathlon for almost a year and a half, and he had to get used to the competition again.

He wanted to fight for a medal in Tokyo, but this dream ended on the first day of the competition.

With a cap on his head, his rucksack shouldered, he went out of the arena.

Kaul limped a little, had a bandage on his right foot, and was accompanied by two volunteers.

He didn't want to talk about his injury that evening.

Team doctor Lichtenthal revealed how the injured person is going to continue: “Kaul is now coming to the Olympic Village, where he is supposed to rest.

Tomorrow we'll take him to the university hospital and do an MRI. "

Kaul is 23 years old.

Under normal circumstances, Tokyo was not his last Olympic chance.

But it remains a decathlon.

With agency material.

Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2021-08-04

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