On Saturday evening, Neugebauer outlined his approach going into the decisive day: “Give it everything and fight through each event one at a time. I could have done better in one or two disciplines, but overall I can’t complain.”
After the first day of competition on Saturday, which included the 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 metres, Neugebauer was in fourth place heading into Sunday. After struggling initially in the hurdles, the Paris Olympics silver medallist went on to achieve a World Championship record and set two further personal bests.
First, he threw 56.15 metres in the discus – a distance never before reached by a decathlete at a World Championship event. Shortly afterwards, he took the overall lead with a throw of 64.34 metres in the javelin, a position he held onto through the gruelling 1,500 metres. A personal best was again required to secure the gold - and Neugebauer delivered, crossing the line in 4:31.89.
The achievement means Neugebauer is the first German to win decathlon gold at a World Championships, adding another major title to his career following his silver medal in Paris last summer.
Neugebauer said of his triumph: “This whole season has been a rollercoaster and I didn’t really expect this. But I stayed calm and stuck to my plan. The second day was amazing because the crowd was fantastic and I was able to feed off that energy. I knew exactly how fast I had to run in the 1,500 to keep the lead. I’ve never felt so awful after a race, but I ran a personal best, so it was absolutely worth it. I had an incredible time and I’m over the moon.”
VfB Stuttgart President Dietmar Allgaier: “On behalf of everyone at VfB Stuttgart, I congratulate Leo Neugebauer on this incredible achievement – world champion! It’s simply sensational. The entire VfB family is proud to count Leo among our own. We all send our very best wishes to Tokyo.”