Steve Fritz missed an Olympic medal by 20 points in Atlanta (1996). He had finished the best competition of his life, scoring 8644 points. That got him 4th place.
Roman Šebrle became the first decathlete ever to achieve over 9000 points, setting the World Record at 9026 points (Götzis 2001), succeeding his compatriot, Tomaš Dvorak, who had scored 8994 points two years earlier (Prague 1999).
Simon Poelman's legacy to New Zealand athletics is that of the greatest all round athlete in it's history. His outstanding and, probably, under developed ability at a wide range of events brought him successes at many major events. He is also
I tell myself how important and pivotal this moment is, trying to get as much nervous energy as possible, if I feel nervous I know I’m ready compete! - Lewis Church, UK decathlete