Of course, Leo Neugebauer also knows the “number 1 rule” for athletes traveling to competitions: “Always carry spikes in your hand luggage”. But the problem for the decathlete is the sheer mass of material that he has to carry with him: “I have so many spikes – they don’t all fit in my hand luggage.” Especially not with his big feet: “Shoe size 48, 49”.
Two days before the start of the decathlon at the World Championships in Athletics in Budapest, the new German decathlon star is still waiting for the suitcase with his spikes. One of his pieces of luggage has now been forwarded. Anyway. That was also important for him, after all there were contact lenses and other personal things in there, Neugebauer said on Wednesday.
But the second suitcase with the competition shoes is still missing. A decathlete needs ten pairs, there is a special shoe for practically every discipline, plus jogging shoes and flip-flops for the breaks. Luckily, Neugebauer’s parents are arriving on Thursday. They bring him “a new set”: “Then I have everything I need for the competition.”
Whether it’s new or old shoes, he doesn’t stress about it. The main thing is that they fit. In most disciplines, Neugebauer even prefers new spikes. Only when throwing discus, where he is one of the absolute top athletes with a record of 55.06 meters, does he like to use the shoes he was already wearing during training – “with a certain roughness” that helps with turning.
Decathlon colleague Niklas Kaul was better off. “I got my suitcase right away,” said last year’s European champion. The group that flew from Frankfurt was able to collect all of their luggage in Budapest. On the other hand, those coming from Munich were unlucky, and things went wrong in the handling.
“I think something like that just doesn’t work,” said Neugebauer. The athletes were already on the plane in Munich. “And then suddenly there was no crew to bring the luggage onto the plane. It’s funny that something like this can happen at all.” Before such a big competition, he said, that should be sorted out.
In general, the 23-year-old tries to see the shoe problem as a challenge. “If you’re a good athlete, you should be able to handle different situations. You’ll also be tested a bit there,” says the student, who recently broke Jürgen Hingsen’s almost 40-year-old German record at his place of study in Austin, Texas.
Jürgen Kalwa, New York Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 17 Achim Dreis, Ratingen Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 6 Michael Reinsch, Berlin Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10
Despite his false start through no fault of his own, he doesn’t let it spoil his mood. With his 8836 points, Neugebauer traveled to Hungary as number one in the world rankings. He is looking forward to his start there on Friday. “I do my thing,” said the gold candidate. His goal is, “Get out there, have fun and show what I’ve got.” And given the choice, he’d rather win the title than score more points.
