A gold medal for Norway in the men’s decathlon isn’t something many Norwegians could have predicted, but 22-year-old Markus Rooth has become the 2024 Olympic champion in Paris. He scored a national record of 8,796 points to win the country’s first medal at the Paris 2024 Games.
Rooth had an error-free two days of competition, setting personal bests in four of the five second-day events: the pole vault, javelin throw, discus throw and 110m hurdles. Germany’s Leo Neugebauer took silver, with a score of 8,748 points, and Grenada’s Linden Victor rounded out the podium for bronze with a score of 8,711 points.
At 22, Rooth is the second youngest Olympic decathlon champion in history, behind only 1948 Olympic champion Bob Mathias (USA), who won gold at age 17.
Before these Olympics, Rooth’s best decathlon finish at a major championship was eighth, at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, where Canada’s Pierce LePage and Damian Warner took home gold and silver. LePage did not compete at the Paris Olympics due to injury, and Warner dropped out of the decathlon on Saturday after eight events.
In the eighth event, Warner was in second place, with 6,428 points, trailing only Neugebauer. Unfortunately, Warner failed all three pole vault attempts at his starting height of 4.60 metres, resulting in a “no height” and earning 0 points.
This is the first time Warner has not completed a decathlon at an Olympic Games. He finished fifth in London 2012, won bronze in Rio 2016 and claimed gold at Tokyo 2020.
Athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place from Aug. 1-11. Today’s coverage is brought to you by Canadian Running and New Balance Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.
