German decathletes Neugebauer and Kaul take silver and bronze in Götzis

Germany's Leo Neugebauer celebrated his first podium finish at the prestigious Götzis decathlon meeting, securing second place with 8,730 points. He narrowly missed his first victory in Austria, finishing just 48 points behind Switzerland's Simon Ehammer.

Ehammer, who recently broke the 14-year-old heptathlon world record, also set a new decathlon world best in the long jump, reaching 8.51 meters. Neugebauer, the former world champion, showed strong form throughout the competition, particularly with a strong comeback in the final disciplines.

Niklas Kaul, another German competitor, also made a strong recovery in the final events, Speerwurf and 1,500 meters, to secure third place, mirroring his performance from the previous year. Both Neugebauer and Kaul have now raised hopes for strong performances at the European Championships in Birmingham from August 10-16.

In the women's competition, Sophie Weißenberg of Leverkusen achieved a personal best of 6,449 points for fourth place, marking a significant comeback after a more than 20-month layoff due to an Achilles tendon rupture sustained during the Olympics. The victory went to Switzerland's Annik Kälin, who set a national record with 6,726 points.