A decathlete in action in the discus (© Getty Images)
Two years ago in Cali, Germany’s Niklas Kaul came out on top in the decathlon after a two-day battle with Ludovic Besson of France.
The decathlon at this year’s championships once again looks set to be a duel between those two countries as Germany’s Maximilian Kluth leads the entries with a best of 7460, while Steven Fauvel Clinch of France is just 70 points shy of that mark.
The two decathletes are evenly matched in five of the 10 disciplines: the 400m, 1500m, high jump, long jump and javelin. But Kluth has superior marks in the shot and discus, while Clinch appears to be better in the 100m, 110m hurdles and pole vault.
Don’t be surprised to see this competition go down to the wire.
Also don’t rule out the possibility of Leo Neugebauer challenging for the title. He finished just 123 points adrift of compatriot Kluth in Filderstadt last month with a PB of 7337.
Latvia’s Olegs Kozjakovs won the Baltic youth title at the age of 16 with a best of 7288, and France’s Florian Fourre has also scored well in excess of 7000 points this year and could challenge for a medal.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
