Leo Neugebauer (born 19 June 2000) is a German multi-event

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete. He is the German record holder in the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

and indoor

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

and Olympic silver medalist in the

, having placed second at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

Early life

Neugebauer was born in

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

and grew up in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

from the age of six weeks onwards. His mother, Diana, is from Germany, and his father, Terrance, is a soccer player from

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He has one sister. Neugebauer joined the athletics club LG Leinfelden-Echterdingen, south of

. He moved to the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in the United States on a sport scholarship to initially study mechanical engineering in 2019, but later switched to economics.

Career

2022

Competing at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

Neugebauer finished tenth overall in the men's decathlon.

2023

Competing in the NCAA Championships for the

in June 2023, Neugebauer set a new collegiate record for the decathlon, with a points tally of 8,836 points that placed him in the top-10 of all time. The previous collegiate record of 8,720 was set by Kyle Garland in 2022. Neugebauer also broke the meet record of 8,457 set by Ashton Eaton in 2010 and equalled by

Ayden Owens-Delerme Ayden Owens-Delerme (born 28 May 2000) is a Puerto Rican decathlete. He finished fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Professional Despite being born and raised in the United States, Owens-Delerme represents Puerto Rico on the int ...

in 2022. He earned personal bests in seven of the ten events, and his tally would have been enough to triumph at the previous years’ World Athletics Championships. Neugebauer also took the German national record of 8832 set in 1984 by

Jürgen Hingsen Jürgen Hingsen (; born 25 January 1958) is a former West German decathlete who won several medals at international championships and Olympic Games in the 1980s, and held the decathlon world record in 1982 and again from 1983 to 1984. His rivalry ...

. In November 2023, he joined the track and field department of

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

2024

In 2024, Neugebauer joined

. He won the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. His tally of 6,347 points added more than 50 points to a German national record that had stood for 22 years. He also won the decathlon at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships in a new collegiate and national record of 8,961 points. Additionally, he set the world decathlon best in the discus throw with a throw of 57.70 m. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Neugebauer won the silver medal in the Men's decathlon competition. This was Germany's first Olympic medal in the event since

Frank Busemann Frank Busemann (; born 26 February 1975 in Recklinghausen) is a former Germany, German decathlon, decathlete. He currently works as a pundit for athletics coverage by German TV channel Das Erste. Busemann started his career as a 110 metres hurd ...

was also awarded silver at the 1996 games.

Achievements

International championships

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neugebauer, Leo 2000 births Living people German decathletes VfB Stuttgart athletes Sportspeople from Stuttgart German people of Cameroonian descent United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Germany Texas Longhorns men's track and field athletes NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics