East Germany, led by Ramona Neubert and Sybille Thiele, were favorites in Sofia, while Bulgaria and the USSR provided strong competition despite key absences.
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