Oleksandr Apaichev achieved a personal best of 8709 points during a dual meet between the Soviet Union and East Germany in Neubrandenburg in 1984. This score remains the Ukrainian national record. After retiring from competitive athletics,
Lev Lobodin on the podium: European Championships 1994, 1998 and 2002 bronze (decathlon).
World Indoor Championships 2001 and 2004 bronze, 2003 silver (heptathlon).
This story captures Jürgen Hingsen’s incredible achievements and records while highlighting the recurring theme of being overshadowed by Daley Thompson
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.
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