Robert Zmelík wasn’t unbeatable in every meet, but in Barcelona 1992, nobody else combined consistency, peak fitness, and mental resilience as well as he did. That’s why, on that stage, he was the best.
Michael Kohnle won the men’s decathlon at the 1989 European Athletics Junior Championships in Varaždin with a championship-record 8114 points, finishing ahead of Norbert Lampe (7586) and David Bigham (7446).
The discipline and training applied by decathletes have always been regarded by me as the ultimate in athletic dedication. Whilst it is of course always a huge honour for any decathlete to achieve the ultimate status of World Champion, I cannot help but regard all those who dedicate themselves to this most gruelling of athletic disciplines as Champions - unknown person