Olympic decathlon odds: Rising star Neugebauer looks good for gold

The Olympic decathlon gets underway on Friday, sparking two days of intense competition as sport's most complete athletes do battle over 10 disciplines.

Day one features the 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m, before Saturday's 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m.

With world champion Pierce LePage out of the picture due to a herniated disc, emerging star Leo Neugebauer looks the one to beat.

Decathlon odds

• Leo Neugebauer - 8/11
• Damian Warner - 11/4
• Kevin Mayer - 15/2
• Ayen Owens-Delerme - 12/1
• Johannes Erm - 16/1
• Lindon Victor - 18/1
• Sander Skotheim - 18/1
• Markus Rooth - 25/1

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(Odds were correct at time of publishing and subject to change)

Leo Neugebauer

The decathlon's coming force, Neugebauer won last year's NCAA title with a German record score of 8836 and finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest.

He set another national benchmark in scoring 6347 on his way to winning the NCAA indoor heptathlon title and defended his outdoor decathlon crown, scoring a world-leading 8961, the sixth-highest total ever in the event.

At 24, Neugebauer already looks to be the complete athlete and with 9000 points in sight, Paris might be where he does it.

Damian Warner

Defending champion Damian Warner is Canada's sole competitor after world champion LePage's agonising withdrawal with a back injury.

However, Warner is certainly not to be discounted. He won gold in Tokyo with a national record of 9018 and has earned medals in all but one of the major championships he has attended since 2013.

The 34-year-old has shown good form this year, recording a record eighth victory at Hypo Meeting in Götzis and will be desperate to get back on top of the podium after last year's silver behind LePage in Budapest.

Kevin Mayer

Home hope Kevin Mayer's chances could rest on whether he has sufficiently recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered at the Diamond League meeting in London on 8th July.

Mayer was competing in the 110m hurdles, where he smashed into the eighth obstacle and has undergone an intense rehabilitation programme.

Still the world record holder with the 9126 he tallied in 2018, at 32, the two-time silver medalist may see this as his final chance to claim gold and will be desperate to avoid a repeat of last year's Worlds when he limped out after two events due to an Achilles issue.

Ayen Owens-Delerme

Ayen Owens-Delerme has reprioritised the decathlon after focusing on the 400m hurdles last year, clocking a handy PB of 48.26.

He was fourth at the 2022 Worlds before compiling a score of 6518 in winning silver behind American Kyle Garland in the heptathlon at the 2023 NCAA Championship, making him third on the all-time indoor list.

Born in Pittsburgh but representing Puerto Rico, he improved his national record to 8732 in April and is a genuine medal hope.

Johannes Erm

Estonia's Johannes Erm comes into the competition hot. He finished third in Gotzis before winning the European title with 8794, 300 points up on his previous PB set when finishing ninth in Budapest.

He leads a strong Estonian contingent with 40/1 Karel Tilga, fourth at the 2023 Worlds, and 66/1 Janek Oiglane a former European bronze medalist, also set to compete.

Lindon Victor

Lindon Victor produced a PB of 8756 to win bronze in Budapest and the Commonwealth champion will now aim to add an Olympic medal to his haul.

The Grenadan placed fifth in Gotzis, but he may struggle to improve on his performance in Budapest, in which he set four personal bests.

Sander Skotheim and Markus Rooth

It makes sense to group Norway's Sander Skotheim and Markus Rooth, as they have spent the last few years pushing each other onto national records.

Skotheim scored 8590 last year in Gotzis before Rooth raised the bar with the 8608 he collated to win the European U23 title.

The former took silver behind Erm at the European Championships. His colleague was also on for a good score but had to withdraw when sitting third in the competition and will have been working hard to get back from his unspecified injury.