Frank Busemann (; born 26 February 1975 in
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...
) is a former
German decathlete
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...
. He currently works as a pundit for athletics coverage by German TV channel
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
.
Busemann started his career as a
110 m hurdler and was
junior world champion in this discipline in 1994. After his surprising decathlon silver medal at the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
with his personal best of 8706 points he became one of Germany's most popular sportsmen. He also was named ''German Sportsman of the Year''. At the
World Championships of the following year Busemann came third.
After these successes Busemann confronted severe injuries from which he only recovered partly. He made a comeback at the 2000 Olympics where he finished in seventh place. In 2003, at the age of just 28, he retired because of his deteriorating physical condition. His personal best of 8706 points ranks him fourth among German decathletes, behind
Jürgen Hingsen,
Uwe Freimuth and
Siegfried Wentz.
Achievements
References
External links
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Personal website
1975 births
Living people
German male hurdlers
German decathletes
Olympic decathletes
Olympic athletes of Germany
Olympic silver medalists for Germany
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
World Athletics Championships athletes for Germany
World Athletics Championships medalists
People from Recklinghausen
Sportspeople from Münster (region)
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