Good timing is a key qualification in the decathlon.

If you want to achieve top performance in ten distinctly different disciplines from pole vault to discus throwing over two days within 36 hours, you must be able as an athlete to call on your entire ability – only to then fall back into stand-by mode for hours, without losing the basic tension.

Achim Dreis

sports editor.

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Good timing does not seem to have been that important to the organizers of the two major events in this year's track and field season when they designed their schedules, which are obviously not coordinated.

At the upcoming World Championships in Eugene (United States) from July 15th to 24th, the decathlon is to take place on the last two days - as the final highlight of the World Championships, so the thought goes.

Just three weeks later, from August 15th to 21st, the European Championships will take place in Munich – with the decathlon right at the start as the hoped-for bang effect.

The sufferers are the European decathletes around the Mainz world champion Niklas Kaul, who hardly have enough time for proper regeneration and who also have to compensate for a jet lag of nine hours.

Kaul deals with this schedule with his own nonchalance: "Put your feet up" is his only goal for the time in between: "Of course I would have liked the decathlon to start at the World Championships and end at the European Championships".

Then there would be almost five weeks between them.

"Now we have to make the best of it."

But what makes the targeted work beforehand all the more important: "The training must be done before the flight to Eugene is due."

Of course, national coach Frank Müller wants to leave no stone unturned between the World and European Championships in order to organize the regeneration of the athletes in the best possible way and is looking for contact “with experts from sleep research”.

Despite this timing problem, Niklas Kaul, who is now 24, is confident about the season.

The foot injury that spoiled the Tokyo Olympics "has healed".

He has been able to put full weight on his foot since November, "even high jumping is no problem".

The man from Mainz has already completed a training camp in Stellenbosch together with his training partner, Frankfurt's world-class heptathlete Carolin Schäfer, and another is to follow in Belek in April.

The first and only decathlon before the World Championships is planned for May 7th and 8th in Ratingen, where the traditional all-around meeting will be held for the 25th time, but this time is unusually early in the calendar.

This date is also due to the two-person annual plan.

In Ratingen, Kaul, whose best performance since his World Cup glory in Doha is 8691 points, wants to tick off the necessary qualifying standard for Munich (8100).

Eugene's is higher (8350) but needn't weigh him down as he enjoys a wild card as the defending champion.

"Purely from a sporting point of view" the World Cup is "rated higher", says Kaul about the importance of the two top events, but "emotionally" Munich is more important to him.

"I've already been able to experience a home European Championship," he recalls the glorious days of Berlin 2018. "That was my best decathlon so far."

At that time he had been called up at short notice to replace the injured Kai Kazmirek and, as a newcomer, immediately took fourth place.

But above all, he remembers the enthusiastic and enthusiastic German sports audience.

He's hoping for a similar mood in Munich - which he could certainly contribute to with a top performance.

The youngest world champion in decathlon history no longer accepts the pressure to define certain values ​​as personal goals: "Every year I try to run faster, jump higher and throw further," he explains in a philosophical modification of the Olympic slogans.

"The big picture is more important than the eleven seconds over 100 meters," which he then indirectly addressed his weak point - the sprint.

"I hope that Ratingen works well," says Kaul.

Because he doesn't want to try Plan B.

On the 28th/29th

The traditional meeting in Götzis (Vorarlberg) is still on the competition calendar for May.

An appointment, also only three weeks apart – only without jetlag – which he only wants to fall back on if plan A goes wrong.

"I don't necessarily have to go to Götzis," says Kaul unequivocally and promises for Ratingen: "I try a lot - but not too much".

Because retrieving the best performance of the season is also a question of timing.