East German Olympic decathlon trials Potsdam 1984 saw Uwe Freimuth win with a national record of 8542 points, equivalent to 8597 under the 1985 scoring tables. Torsten Voss finished just seven points behind with 8535, followed by Hans
Bernhausen 1983 hosted the West German decathlon trials for the World Championships in Helsinki, where Jürgen Hingsen set a world record of 8779 points — equivalent to 8825 points under the 1985 scoring tables. Siegfried Wentz finished second
West German Olympic decathlon trials Bernhausen 1980 produced a world record of 8649 points by Guido Kratschmer, equivalent to 8667 under the 1985 scoring tables. Jürgen Hingsen finished second with 8407 and Wolfgang Muders third with 8100.
Dan O’Brien won the 1996 US Olympic Trials decathlon in Atlanta with 8726 points, defeating Steve Fritz (8636) and Chris Huffins (8546) in one of the strongest American decathlon fields of the era. The Atlanta Olympic Trials served as the U. S.
Tom Pappas won the 2000 US Championships decathlon in Sacramento with 8467 points, finishing ahead of Chris Huffins (8285) and Kip Janvrin (8057) in a high ‐level American field. The Sacramento competition also served as the 2000 US Olympic
Bryan Clay won the 2004 US Championships decathlon in Sacramento with 8660 points, defeating Tom Pappas and Paul Terek in a highly competitive Olympic Trials contest. The Sacramento decathlon also served as the U. S. Olympic Trials for the 2004
Torsten Voss has won gold medal at the World Championships in Roma 1987. In 1981, he claimed silver at the European U20 Championships, and in 1982 set a junior world record in decathlon with 8397 points.
Failing in just one event can end a decathlete's entire competition, with no points scored and no chance of recovery - no matter how well they've performed elsewhere.
Steve Fritz had finished the best competition of his life, scoring 8644 points, more than Bruce Jenner produced to win the Montreal gold. That got him only fourth place.
Paul Terek set his decathlon personal best of 8312 points at the 2004 US Olympic Trials, earning a place at the Athens Olympics. He won three US indoor heptathlon titles and finished tenth at the Osaka 2007 World Championships.