Overview
- Competition officials displayed 4.80 m on the scoreboard but one runway’s crossbar remained at 4.70 m, so seven decathletes who appeared to clear the shown height had those attempts annulled and were ordered to repeat the jump.
- The problem worsened when staff neglected to set the adjustable standard distances for some athletes, which caused mistimed take-offs, failed attempts and a near-injury to Leo Neugebauer’s calf.
- Athletes lodged protests that were initially refused on the field, but contestees were granted provisional extra attempts and the competition jury later upheld Neugebauer’s protest, validating his 4.80 m (and later 4.90 m) result.
- The incident happened on Thursday during the middle of the ten-event decathlon and forced unplanned extra jumps in temperatures reported near 35–36°C, increasing fatigue and raising concerns about fairness for the remaining events.
- Organisers and kampfrichter have faced sharp public criticism from coaches and former athletes, and no formal sanctions or detailed official explanation had been reported at the time of the latest coverage.