Decathlon world champion Niklas Kaul believes in an improvement in his personal best of 8691 points. “I’m not at the absolute maximum in any discipline,” said the 24-year-old in an interview with “Welt”: “There is still potential in all techniques, even in javelin throwing. I have to see if I can still exploit it.”
After his World Cup triumph in Doha 2019, the Mainz player was repeatedly plagued by injuries, including his comeback in Ratingen in early May. A pinched nerve in his neck forced Kaul to drop out. For the decathlete, who has not yet broken the norm for the home European Championships in Munich (August 15th to 21st), the renewed setback is no cause for concern: “I feel good and I think that will be the case in the future won’t be a problem.”
Kaul has the next chance of qualifying for the European Championship next weekend in Götzis, for the norm 8100 points are required. A strong result in Austria would ensure a mammoth program in the summer: As the defending champion, Kaul has a wildcard for the World Cup in Eugene (July 15th to 24th), followed three weeks later by the European Championship home game in Munich.
For Kaul, who went down in history three years ago as the youngest decathlon world champion, the double burden and the short break between events is an unusual situation. “We have exactly 21 days. That’s really not much,” he said. “However, it affects all European Championship medal candidates.” “Regeneration” is crucial for the Mainz player to perform well.