In the prestigious Götzis meeting, 30-year-old Van der Plaetsen set a personal best of 8,430 points on the tables, an improvement on his previous record of 98 points.
Van der Plaetsen also went well above the Olympic limit of 8,350 points. The Belgian record came in his sights for a while, but with 8,519 points that remains in the name of Hans Van Alphen. Van der Plaetsen finished 3rd in Götzis.
Niels Pittomvils also performed excellently and finished in 6th place with a PR of 8.222. Pittomvils may later take another shot at an Olympic ticket.
The victory in Götzis went to Canadian phenomenon Damian Warner. With 8,995 points, Warner flirted with the magic mark of 9,000 points.
It became the fourth best decathlon of all time, after Czech Roman Sebrle (2001), American Ashton Eaton (2012 and 2015) and Frenchman Kevin Mayer (2018).
In Tokyo it promises to be a tough title fight between Mayer, Warner and the German Niklas Kaul. For Van der Plaetsen it will be the second Games, after an 8th place in Rio 2016.
“I am very relieved,” says Thomas Van der Plaetsen. “I’ve been looking around for the last few weeks to see if the automatic play limit was possible.”
“Otherwise you have to aim for bonus points with the world ranking, but it is very bizarre. That is more of a lottery than a real appreciation of your performance. I am glad that I am now free of that.”
“I delivered a good all-around. Physically I was at my best level. With some adjustments and better throwing numbers I could even do a little better. I’ve had some injuries in recent years, but I’m back just in time for Tokyo.”
