Simon Roderick Poelman (born 27 May 1963,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

) is a former New Zealand decathlete, who has been described as New Zealand's best ever all-round athlete. In the decathlon, his personal best of 8359 points (which is adjusted from 8366 points as it was hand timed) is still a New Zealand national record. This was set at the national athletics championships in Christchurch 1987. As well as being the national decathlon champion seven times. He was also the New Zealand senior men's national champion in several individual events including the 100m (once), 110m hurdles (seven times),

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

(twice),

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

(three times), and shot put (once). He won the bronze medal at the 1986 Commonwealth games in Edinburgh and at the 1990 Commonwealth games he won both the silver medal for decathlon and bronze in the pole vault. At the time of the

Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

he was ranked fourth in the world at decathlon, but had a bad start when a series of false starts led to a slow 100m time in his heat, and he finished in 16th place on 8021 points. In 1998, Poelman was convicted of importing ecstasy tablets with a value of $NZ200,000 and sentenced to 3 years in prison. He initially denied the charges but later confessed. Poelman returned to competitive athletics in 2004, setting
world age-group record
breaking a 23-year world record, for the decathlon. He was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal

Personal bests

References

External links

Performances over 8000 points
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poelman, Simon 1963 births Living people New Zealand decathletes New Zealand masters athletes New Zealand people of Dutch descent Olympic athletes of New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Hamilton, New Zealand Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games