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.
Steve Fritz had finished the best competition of his life, scoring 8644 points, more than Bruce Jenner produced to win the Montreal gold. That got him only fourth place.
Paul Terek's personal best in the decathlon came at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento where he scored 8312 points and finished in 3rd place to earn a spot in the Athens Olympic Games.
This project presents comprehensive all ‐time rankings of track and field athletes, evaluating their careers using criteria inspired by Track & Field News world rankings ‐ honors, records, consistency, and head ‐to ‐head
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