Five of the top 10 performers in history will be in Tokyo
World leader Sander Skotheim has already won two major titles this year and is looking for a third
Strong North American presence from US champion Kyle Garland and Canadian duo Damian Warner and Pierce LePage
For the second year in a row, a global decathlon gold medal could be making its way back to Norway. But this time, it could be a different athlete standing on top of the podium.
One year on from Markus Rooth winning the Olympic decathlon title, his Norwegian teammate Sander Skotheim heads to the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 as the favourite for the gold medal.
The 23-year-old has already won two major titles this year, having earned heptathlon gold at the European Indoor Championships and World Indoor Championships, setting a European indoor record of 6558 at the former.
His incredible form continued outdoors and he won at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis with a world-leading 8909 to move to seventh on the world all-time list. That also broke the Norwegian record set by Rooth in Paris last year, continuing the ongoing exchange of national records between the pair.
The domestic rivalry between the duo has elevated them both to considerable international success in recent years. Rooth and Skotheim took gold and silver respectively at the European U23 Championships in 2023, then both finished in the top 10 at the World Championships later that year.
In 2024, Skotheim took European silver while Rooth failed to finish. The tables were turned at the Olympic Games as Skotheim failed to register a height in the pole vault, but he still lined up for the 1500m to help motivate Rooth in his run for glory.
Rooth won’t be in Tokyo, but there’s no shortage of opponents for Skotheim as he targets his first major outdoor title.
Kyle Garland finished second to Skotheim in Gotzis with 8626, then went on to smash his PB to win the US title with 8869, putting him just 40 points shy of the Norwegian on this year’s world list and elevating him to ninth on the world all-time list.
In fact, five of the world all-time top 10 will be in Tokyo, including Canada’s Damian Warner who won Olympic gold in the Japanese capital four years ago. Now 35, Warner is one of just four men to have surpassed 9000 points in the decathlon. He is also one of the most consistent performers in the history of the event; he has competed at every outdoor global championships over the past 14 years and has won medals at six of them.
He had a rare off day at the Olympics last year and failed to register a height in the pole vault, the memories of which will motivate him in Tokyo. He finished sixth in Gotzis this year with 8527.
Compatriot Pierce LePage, winner of the world title in 2023, will defend his crown. He withdrew from the decathlon in Gotzis in May with three disciplines to go and has competed sparingly since then.
Olympic silver medallist Leo Neugebauer is sandwiched between the Canadian duo on the world all-time list with his 8961 German record from last year’s NCAA Championships. He has completed just one decathlon this year, scoring 8555 to finish fifth in Gotzis.
That mark put him just one place behind compatriot Niklas Kaul, who tied for third place in Gotzis with Simon Ehammer, both scoring 8575. For Kaul, that represented the second-best score of his career behind the 8691 PB he set when winning the 2019 world title. Ehammer, meanwhile, broke the Swiss record with that performance.
Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme should also be in the medal hunt. He finished one place shy of the podium at the 2022 World Championships with 8532, then improved on that mark in 2024 with a national record of 8732. This year he placed seventh in Gotzis with 8486 then almost replicated that mark to win in Talence with 8478.
Lindon Victor hasn’t completed a decathlon this year, but the 32-year-old from Grenada took bronze medals at the 2024 Olympics and 2023 World Championships so undoubtedly has the potential to contend for a podium place.
Decathlon powerhouse Estonia, meanwhile, will be well represented in the form of European champion Johannes Erm, 2023 World Championships fourth-place finisher Karel Tilga and 2022 European bronze medallist Janek Oiglane.
Others to keep an eye on include Olympic fourth-place finisher Sven Roosen of the Netherlands and US duo Heath Baldwin and Harrison Williams.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
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