Stefan Schmid set his decathlon personal best of 8485 points in Ratingen in 2000 and finished ninth at the Sydney Olympics later that year. His career also included seventh ‐place finishes at the 1997 and 2001 World Championships, but his
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.
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 Zmelik won Olympic decathlon gold with 8611 points in Barcelona 1992 and became world indoor heptathlon champion in Paris 1997. He achieved his decathlon personal best of 8627 points in Götzis 1992 and scored 6228 points for his world
Robert de Wit set a Dutch decathlon record of 8447 points in Eindhoven 1988 and finished eighth at the Seoul Olympics that year. He also placed fourth in the heptathlon at the Genova 1992 European Indoor Championships with a national record of 6023
Mike Maczey won the individual decathlon competition at the 2002 European Cup Combined Events Super League in Bydgoszcz with 8104 points. His career best of 8461 points came in Götzis in 2000, while his indoor heptathlon best was 6015 points at
Klaus Isekenmeier won the European U23 decathlon title in Turku in 1997, three years after taking silver at the U20 World Championships in Lisbon. The German decathlete set his personal best of 8310 points in Ratingen in 1997 and recorded nine
Jürgen Hingsen is a German decathlete who set three world records in the early 1980s, with performances worth 8741, 8825 and 8832 points under the 1985 scoring tables. Representing West Germany, he won silver at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic
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 won the Multistars decathlon in Desenzano del Garda 2000 with a personal best of 8339 points. The Czech decathlete finished sixth at the Edmonton 2001 World Championships and earned European U20 bronze in Nyíregyháza 1995.
Jagan Hames won Commonwealth Games decathlon gold in Kuala Lumpur 1998 with an Australian record of 8490 points. An accomplished high jumper with a best of 2.30 m, he combined his jumping ability with four decathlon scores above 8000 points.
Jaakko Ojaniemi finished fifth at the München 2002 European Championships with a decathlon personal best of 8192 points. The Finnish decathlete won European U20 silver in Riga 1999 and European U23 silver in Amsterdam 2001, and competed at the
Indrek Kaseorg won decathlon silver at the Buffalo 1993 Universiade and achieved his personal best of 8179 points in Götzis 1998. A four ‐time Estonian decathlon champion in 1991, 1993, 2001 and 2003, he also placed seventh at the
At the 2000 Multistars decathlon Jirí Ryba delivered the performance of his career, scoring 8339 points to establish a new meeting record. The Czech decathlete dominated the competition in Desenzano del Garda and finished 486 points clear of
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.
Gernot Kellermayr set an Austrian decathlon record of 8320 points when finishing fourth in Götzis 1993. That year, he was among several Austrian athletes, including Andreas Berger, Franz Ratzenberger and Thomas Renner, who tested positive for
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