After three disciplines, the decathlete Leo Neugebauer showed signs of failure. He screamed so much, he confessed in a husky voice, that it put a bit of strain on the vocal cords. The 23-year-old had reason to do so on the first day of World Championship competition, after 10.69 seconds over 100 meters he jumped 8.00 meters and hit the ball 17.04 meters, two resounding personal bests.
By the time he had surpassed 2.02 meters in the high jump, in the fourth discipline, the vocal cords received little rest. After 47.99 seconds 400 meters, Neugebauer closed the first day with 4640 points – 25 more than his German record in early June. A close duel emerged with Canadian Pierce Lepage (4610) – for the world championship title.
It was the only edifying news for the German Athletics Association on the third to last day in Budapest, in addition to Julian Weber’s entry into the javelin final on Sunday with 82.39 meters. Niklas Kaul, the 2019 decathlon world champion, first injured his hip in the long jump, then his foot in the high jump and gave up.
The sprint relays, however, left a confused picture. While they had recently raved about edifying relay units, the men botched the second change from Lucas Ansah-Peprah to Joshua Hartmann in the lead-up and did not finish. The women around Gina Lückenkemper and Rebekka Haase were initially too slow for the final after bumpy handovers in 42.87 seconds, but then moved up by jury decision because starting runner Louise Wieland was obstructed during the change.