How many ways can we say, “ Roman Šebrle of the Czech Republic is the world’s greatest performer ever in the century ‐old tradition of the decathlon? I can think of at least five: Šebrle’s uniqueness, longevity, consistency,
Christian Plaziat was key in elevating French decathlon to world ‐class status and held the national record until the rise of Kevin Mayer. Despite his Olympic setbacks, his charisma, consistency, and indoor indoor dominance made him a
Dan O’Brien won an Olympic gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games (1996). He is triple decathlon World champion (1991, 1993, 1995) and a former World Record holder (8891 points scored in Talence 1992).
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 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.
Lev Lobodin on the podium: European Championships 1994, 1998 and 2002 bronze (decathlon).
World Indoor Championships 2001 and 2004 bronze, 2003 silver (heptathlon).
The Decathlon's nice in that you get to know the other athletes. It's almost like everyone helps each other out. We're all out there trying to win, but at the same time there's a friendship there too. It's always fun going to meets and catching up with the other guys - Tom Pappas