Neugebauer and Krause strike gold for Germany, Agyekum breaks hurdles record at European Athletics Championships

Neugebauer survives decathlon thriller

Leo Neugebauer secured gold in the decathlon at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, winning with 8611 points and a margin of just 38 points over teammate Niklas Kaul. The 26-year-old world champion, competing at his first European Championships, took the lead after the second discipline and held it through ten events despite a calf injury and a pole vault debacle caused by officials. Norway's Sander Skotheim took bronze with 8433 points, while Switzerland's Andrin Huber finished ninth. Neugebauer had already won world championship gold in Tokyo and Olympic silver before adding this title.

The decathlon unfolded in 35-degree heat, described by British media as the warmest day of the year and the fifth-warmest since records began. Neugebauer faded in the 400 metres at the end of day one, and the second day brought chaos in the pole vault. Officials set the bar at 4.70 metres instead of the intended 4.80 metres, meaning seven athletes, including Neugebauer and France's Makenson Gletty, cleared what they thought was 4.80 but was actually 4.70. When the bar was correctly raised, Neugebauer failed all attempts. A protest was initially rejected, but he was granted a jump under protest, which he cleared. The standards were also incorrectly spaced for Neugebauer's attempts.

In the closing 1500 metres, Neugebauer nearly collapsed, his legs giving out in the final 50 metres.

I gave everything, on the last 50 metres my legs let me down a bit again, but I pushed through. It was enough. Two medals for Germany in the decathlon, it couldn't be any better.

Kaul, 28, mounted a furious comeback on the second day, traditionally his stronger day, but fell 38 points short. It was his best result since his European title four years ago in Munich. After a disappointing eighth place at the Paris Olympics, where he said he had been too tense chasing a medal, Kaul said he had learned to enjoy the decathlon again. He framed his silver positively.

I became second, won a silver medal and the explicit emphasis is on won.

Krause takes third steeplechase title

Gesa Krause won gold in the 3000 metres steeplechase, her third European title after victories in Amsterdam in 2016 and Berlin in 2018. She surged to the front with a decisive closing sprint. Teammate Olivia Gürth took bronze, while Henrik Janssen added bronze in the discus. The golds from Krause and Neugebauer were Germany's first of the championships.

The steeplechase produced intra-team friction. Lea Meyer, who had dictated the pace for much of the race, fell at the final water jump and dropped to fourth. She criticised Krause's tactics afterward.

Well, you're aware of it: Gesa simply doesn't want to do anything for a single metre. She sits it out and runs from behind.

Krause responded that she felt sorry for Meyer's fall but noted that leading the race was a voluntary choice.

Agyekum breaks decades-old German hurdles record

Emil Agyekum broke one of the oldest records in German athletics at the Diamond League meeting in London, running 47.45 seconds in the 400 metres hurdles to surpass Harald Schmid's mark of 47.48, which had stood for more than four decades. Agyekum, 27, finished second behind Norway's Karsten Warholm. The Frankfurt-based athlete had finished sixth at the world championships the previous year, the best German placement in the event since Schmid's third place in Rome in 1987.

His training partner, U-23 European champion Owe Fischer-Breiholz, observed that Agyekum approaches the sport unconventionally, experimenting with meditation and finding his own path. Fischer-Breiholz said Agyekum's head works differently, that he thinks about many things in ways others do not. Agyekum's former trainer Volker Beck described him as someone who listens intensely inward.

This year the knot seems to have really burst, being able to bring his full potential to the track.