The German Leo Neugebauer leads the decathlon after a first day of events marked by the abandonment of the Frenchman Kevin Mayer, Friday at the World Championships in Budapest. Neugebauer, who notably distinguished himself in the long jump and shot put, takes the lead in the standings after the first five of the ten decathlon events, with 4,640 points.
He is ahead of the Canadians Pierce Lepage, silver medalist in Eugene in 2022 and second with 4,610 points, and the Olympic champion in Tokyo Damian Warner, third with 4,578 points at the halfway point. The last five events will take place on Saturday.
The leader of the France team Kevin Mayer, reigning world champion, gave up at the end of the morning, hitting the left Achilles tendon. He had warned that he would not take any risks one year before the Paris Olympics, and stopped before the shot put, the 3rd of the ten events on the program.
