Roman Šebrle became the first decathlete ever to achieve over 9000 points, setting the World Record at 9026 points (Götzis 2001), succeeding his compatriot, Tomaš Dvorak, who had scored 8994 points two years earlier (Prague 1999).
Robert Zmelík’s Olympic triumph helped spark a golden era for Czech decathlon. He inspired future stars like world record holders Tomáš Dvořák and Roman Šebrle.
Robert de Wit dominated nationally, winning the Dutch decathlon title multiple times in 1981, 1982, 1984 and 1988. He set his personal best of 8447 points in May 1988 at a meet in Eindhoven.
At the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Paul Meier captured the bronze medal with a personal best score of 8548 points. On 30 April 2004, he married high jumper Heike Henkel. They have a daughter, Marlene Meier.
Mike Maczey represented Germany at its highest level - national champion twice, Olympic competitor, and placed in the top eight at European Championships. At Götzis 2000 he posted his lifetime best - 8461 points.
Lev Lobodin on the podium: European Championships 1994, 1998 and 2002 bronze (decathlon).
World Indoor Championships 2001 and 2004 bronze, 2003 silver (heptathlon).
Jon Arnar Magnusson is the Icelandic record holder at 110m hurdles, long jump and decathlon. He set numerous national records, secured multiple international indoor medals in heptathlon, and consistently ranked among the world’s elite decathletes.
Jiri Ryba achieved 6th place at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, scoring 8332 points. He secured a bronze medal at the 1995 European Junior Championships in Nyíregyháza, Hungary, with 7271 points.
Jagan Hames is the Commonwealth Games Champion in Decathlon (1998, Kuala Lumpur). He won gold with a stunning 8490 points, setting both Australian and Oceania records - an achievement that stood for over two decades (until 2021).
Jaakko Ojaniemi’s top decathlon score of 8192 points was achieved at the 2002 European Championships in München. His international medal collection is almost entirely from junior and U23 competitions.
Henrik Dagård’s decathlon personal best of 8403 points, set in Talence in 1994, stood as the Swedish national record for nearly 15 years - until Nicklas Wiberg surpassed it in 2009.
The Decathlon's nice in that you get to know the other athletes. It's almost like everyone helps each other out. We're all out there trying to win, but at the same time there's a friendship there too. It's always fun going to meets and catching up with the other guys - Tom Pappas