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After almost 40 years: Track and field athlete breaks German age-old record

2023-06-09T11:02:09.333Z

Highlights: Decathlete Leo Neugebauer broke an age-old record in the German decathlon. The 22-year-old from Stuttgart scored 8,836 points – a German record and ninth-best value of all time. Track and field athlete is now one of the favorites for the World Championships in Budapest at the end of August. Former Olympic silver medallist Jürgen Hingsen congratulates NeugeBauer, but is "also a bit sad"



Jürgen Hingsen's German decathlon record seemed to stand for eternity. But Leo Neugebauer has now broken the historic mark.

Austin – Athletics legend Jürgen Hingsen held the German decathlon record for almost 39 years. His historic record from 1984 seemed unattainable for a long time, even Dekathlon icons such as Siegfried Wentz, Frank Busemann and 2019 World Champion Niklas Kaul could not surpass it. But Leo Neugebauer has now sensationally broken the age-old record – to Hingsen's chagrin.

Leo Neugebauer
Born:June 19, 2000 (Age: 22 years)
Discipline:Decathlon
Personal best:8,836 points (thus a German record and ninth-best value of all time)

Historic: Track and field athlete Neugebauer surpasses almost 40-year-old German decathlon record

On Thursday evening, Neugebauer, who is studying in Texas in the USA, competed in a historic athletics competition in Austin. At the Division Championships of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the student from near Stuttgart scored a fabulous 8,836 points – a college record in the USA!

But that's not all: With this value, he also surpassed the almost 40-year-old decathlon record of former Olympic silver medallist Jürgen Hingsen by four points and is now the German record holder. Almost exactly 39 years ago, on June 9, 1984, Hingsen scored 8,832 points in Mannheim.

Decathlete Leo Neugebauer made German athletics history on Thursday and broke an age-old record. © Imago / National Collegiate Athletic Association

"I still can't believe it": Decathlete Neugebauer overwhelmed after record competition

The track and field athlete, who competes for LG Leinfelden-Echterdingen, had only set a personal best at the so-called Texas Relays (also in Austin) at the end of March with an outstanding 8,478 points and thus qualified for the World Championships in Budapest in August and for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The tenth place finisher at the 2022 World Championships had thus finally catapulted himself into the top of the world in his discipline.

But he still hadn't expected the quantum leap in the German decathlon that he has now achieved. "That makes me the greatest in history in the whole country. I still can't believe it," said the Neugebauer, struggling for words, after his historic competition. "It feels incredible. I'm overjoyed to have won here in Austin with a record." He learned from his coach that he had surpassed Hingsen's almost 40-year-old record.

In the video: The moment when Neugebauer broke the 40-year German decathlon record

Ex-record holder Hingsen congratulates Neugebauer – but is "also a bit sad"

In the meantime, the dethroned old master has also reacted to Neugebauer's fantastic performance: "Of course I'm really happy, but you're also a bit sad. I would have liked to crack the 40 years," Jürgen Hingsen told the sports information service with a wink.

"I think it's sensational, we need such young people," said the 65-year-old afterwards. Hingsen would like to "definitely congratulate" Neugebauer, who calls himself "Leo the German". First, however, he had to "see how I can get to it".

He has now been dethroned, so to speak: decathlon legend Jürgen Hingsen, here in Mannheim in 1984 on his way to his almost 40-year record. Leo Neugebauer has now surpassed them. © Imago / Sven Simon

Ninth-best decathlon result of all time: Neugebauer is now the favorite for the World Championships

Neugebauer's score of 8,836 points is also the ninth-best decathlon result of all time. The world record since 2018 has been 9,126 points, set by Frenchman Kevin Mayer.

The historic performance also catapulted the 22-year-old to number one in the annual world rankings. He is now one of the medal favorites at the World Championships in Budapest at the end of August. There, another German athletics hope wants to cause a sensation: running ace Konstanze Klosterhalfen, who recently commented on her ambitions. (wuc)

Source: merkur

All sports articles on 2023-06-09

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