Military analogies in sports may be a bit passé, but it’s hard to argue with Alexander Jung when he equates a decathlon with a war.
Jung, a Kansas decathlete, explains that his comparison is based on the sheer level of endurance the competition requires, as the athletes test every conceivable physical skill — the 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meters, 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters — for hours at a time, over the course of two days.
If the decathlon is a war, one that has traditionally earned its Olympic winner the title of “World’s Greatest Athlete,” then KU has strength in numbers. Kansas is one of just four schools bringing multiple decathletes to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships that begin Wednesday in Austin, Texas. Jung, a sophomore Minnesota transfer from Saarlouis, Germany, will be joined by teammate Tayton Klein, an in-state freshman from Andover.
Both officially qualified following last month’s Big 12 Championships, which were actually the first time Klein had competed in a collegiate decathlon — “At first, I kind of took him by (my) side and said ‘Stick with me, do the extra stuff with me,'” Jung said.
Alexander Jung shows off his bronze medal during the Big 12 Championships in Norman, Okla., on May 14.
Over the course of the year, they have formed a mutually supportive relationship, backing each other up at meets and doing extra discus practice in the morning before class.
“I guess where one is weak the other is strong,” KU coach Stanley Redwine said, “so that motivates the other to step up in that area.”
That sort of encouragement will be much more robust throughout the Jayhawks’ roster this year, as KU qualified athletes in 11 events this year for nationals after competing in just seven (including one relay) in 2022.
“I just think it’s a great opportunity for all of our athletes to participate,” Redwine said, “because having one or two coaches there with three or four people is great, but having all of our coaches there with multiple people makes it better.”
The full list of athletes includes Jung and Klein, who knew they were headed for Austin before the rest of their teammates had to compete at NCAA preliminaries in Sacramento, California. Out of the field at prelims emerged Rylee Anderson (high jump) and Lona Latema (3,000-meter steeplechase) for the women’s team, and Patrick Larrison (shot put), Clayton Simms (pole vault), Chandler Gibbens (5,000 meters), A.J. Green (800 meters), Michael Joseph (400 meters), Dimitrios Pavlidis (discus) and Cameron Wilmington (400-meter hurdles) for the men.
Redwine mentioned Gibbens and Joseph among those setting a standard for the future of the program.
“You have to have a perfect mix of younger athletes and some returning athletes,” he said, “and I think hopefully the returning athletes have set a goal or set an example for the new athletes to say, ‘This is what we want to be, continuously.'”
As for the present, the national championships will bring their own set of challenges. One challenge Jung must reckon with at each meet is that many of his top events in the decathlon, like the pole vault and the discus throw, come near the end of the competition, so he frequently starts out at a disadvantage. He said he thinks of Niklas Kaul, a compatriot and acquaintance of his who won the decathlon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Qatar by making up ground in later events.
“If it would be done after the first day,” Jung said, “it wouldn’t be called ‘decathlon.'”
Alexander Jung runs during the Big 12 Championships in Norman, Okla., on May 12.
As for Austin itself, Jung said the late-spring heat would present a challenge, as it could make athletes feel drained entering those same late events where Jung typically shines. He also said that at the Texas Relays earlier this season, he learned that Longhorn athlete Leo Neugebauer gets an uncommon home-field advantage from the crowd, something he hadn’t ever encountered before in track.
“We went to 100 (meters) and long jump, and it was a whole school grade,” Jung said, “like 50 kids, just sitting there and screaming, ‘Leo, Leo, Leo, here, take a picture with me, sign my T-shirt!’
Jung said it’s off-putting, but having already gone through it once, he can handle it.
Kansas may be bringing a sizable contingent to Texas, but Redwine emphasized the Jayhawks’ true objective: “The accomplishment is placing well there, and I think that’s what the goal is.”
Elicia Castillo/Kansas Athletics
Missy Minear/Kansas Athletics
Missy Minear/Kansas Athletics