Germany’s flagship athlete Niklas Kaul won the decathlon at the Ratingen meeting and broke the Olympic norm for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
The 25-year-old European champion from Mainz won with 8484 points. After he had messed up in his strongest discipline, the javelin throw, doubts arose as to whether the norm was being met. With 67.44 meters he stayed more than eleven meters behind his throwing ability in the ninth discipline. “A total catastrophe,” scolded Kaul. With a furious 1500-meter run at the end in 4:14.19 minutes, he finally got the ticket to Paris. The norm was 8460 points.
Two months before the World Championships in Budapest, his German challenger Leo Neugebauer will have carefully observed this from far away America. Ten days earlier he had conquered the top of the world rankings at the college championships with 8836 points. Kaul is now looking forward to a “hot duel” at the World Cup, for which he has already qualified.
Schäfer WINS the heptathlon
There was a German double success in the heptathlon. Olympic seventh Carolin Schäfer from Eintracht Frankfurt won for the third time after 2017 and 2018 with 6369 points. “You shouldn’t write me off. I’m not old and used up,” said Schäfer.
Last year’s winner Sophie Weißenberg from Leverkusen came second with 6247 points. Both missed the World Cup norm of 6480 points, but should have a place in the World Cup due to their good world rankings. In order to be allowed to compete in the Paris Games, however, they still have to exceed this benchmark.