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.
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.
Lev Lobodin on the podium: European Championships 1994, 1998 and 2002 bronze (decathlon).
World Indoor Championships 2001 and 2004 bronze, 2003 silver (heptathlon).
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.
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.
Guido Kratschmer was a world-class German decathlete known for setting a world record and winning major titles, despite a career frequently disrupted by injuries and missed Olympic opportunities.
This story captures Jürgen Hingsen’s incredible achievements and records while highlighting the recurring theme of being overshadowed by Daley Thompson
Laurent Hernu won Talence Decastar in 2003. He is also triple European Cup Combined Events Super League winner. Not just an athlete but also a trusted and influential coach, recognized nationally for his athlete care and technical expertise.
Aleksandr Pogorelov was a talented decathlete with podium-level performances on major stages, but his legacy has been significantly impacted by doping findings and annulled results.
Aleksei Sysoyev is a Russian decathlete born in 1985 who rose quickly through the junior ranks, winning silver medals at the European and World Junior Championships. His decathlon personal best is 8497 points, achieved at the Hypomeeting in
Daley Thompson might have dominated British decathlon, but indoors Tim Duckworth was the best Brit of all time. He set the British indoor heptathlon record of 6188 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2018.
One of the most consistent and prominent female multi-event athletes of the 20th century, East German Burglinde Pollak left a well-recognized legacy in the history of women’s athletics
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