Andres Raja represented Estonia at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, finishing 12th in the decathlon with 8118 points. He improved by just one point to set his personal best of 8119 at the Berlin 2009 World Championships. A four ‐time Estonian
Olexiy Kasyanov won World Championships decathlon bronze with a personal best of 8479 points in Berlin 2009. The Ukrainian also claimed European decathlon silver and two world indoor heptathlon silver medals.
Yordani Garcia progressed from world U18 octathlon champion in Marrakech 2005 to Pan American Games decathlon silver in Rio de Janeiro 2007. The Cuban achieved a personal best of 8496 points in Havana 2009 and won Central American and Caribbean
Michael Schrader produced his finest decathlon at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, winning silver with a personal best of 8670 points. The German decathlete also won the 2009 Götzis Hypomeeting with 8522 points, including an 8. 05 m long
Bronze medals at the 2004 World U20 Championships in Grosseto and the 2005 European U23 Championships in Erfurt marked Norman Müller's rise in the decathlon. The German combined events athlete went on to score 8000+ points in 13 decathlons,
Ashton Eaton won consecutive Olympic decathlon titles in London 2012 and Rio 2016, alongside two world decathlon titles and three world indoor heptathlon titles. The second decathlete to break the 9000 ‐point barrier, the American set world
Jake Arnold won consecutive NCAA decathlon titles in 2006 and 2007 and US indoor heptathlon titles from 2008 to 2010. He also won Multistars in 2009 and 2010 and set his decathlon personal best of 8253 points in Götzis 2010.
Nicklas Wiberg won European U20 decathlon gold in Tampere 2003. He later finished sixth at the Berlin 2009 World Championships with 8406 points, breaking Henrik Dagård’s longstanding Swedish record by three points.
Thomas van der Plaetsen returned from cancer treatment to win the European decathlon title in Amsterdam 2016. The Belgian claimed world indoor heptathlon bronze with a national record of 6259 points in Sopot 2014 and achieved his decathlon best of
The decathlon demands perfection - not just brilliance. It's not just a test of skill, but of resilience. Every great decathlete carries a story of heartbreak, not just victory. That’s what makes this event so deeply human and compelling.
Mihail Dudaš is a Serbian former decathlete who competed at the international level throughout the 2010s, representing Serbia at World and European Championships as well as the Olympic Games.
Pieter Braun clinched the gold medal at the European U23 Championships in Tallinn (2015), Estonia, with a personal best score of 8195 points. His absolute personal best in the decathlon is 8342 points, achieved at the prestigious Hypo
Jan Felix Knobel won the world U20 decathlon title in Bydgoszcz 2008 with 7896 points and finished eighth at the World Championships in Daegu 2011. His best wind ‐legal decathlon score was 8288 points in Götzis 2011, while his highest total
Rico Freimuth followed his father Uwe into international decathlon, winning world bronze in Beijing in 2015 and silver in London in 2017. His personal best of 8663 points came in Ratingen in 2017, a season in which he also secured his second
Till Steinforth won heptathlon bronze at both the European and World Indoor Championships in 2025, setting a German record of 6388 points in Apeldoorn before scoring 6275 in Nanjing. Outdoors, he won the Ratingen 2024 decathlon with a personal
Damian Warner is the Canadian decathlon record holder. He was the 4th decathlete ever to break the 9000 ‐point barrier. He won Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games, setting an Olympic record of 9018 points. Damian Warner won the 2019 IAAF
Kevin Mayer set a decathlon world record of 9126 points in Talence 2018. The French athlete won world titles in London 2017 and Eugene 2022, alongside Olympic silver medals in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021.
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