Thomson and Hingsen, Kings of athletes
Daley THOMPSON (Great Britain) and Jurgen Hingsen (West Germany) first met at the European U20 Championship in 1977, and then the campaign that would last for the best part of a decade gathered pace in May 1980 in Gotizis at the world-famous Decathlon. The competition in Austria was won by Thompson in his first world record of 8622 points with Hingsen third with 8277 points. A few months later in July, 1980, Thompson won the Olympic title in Moscow. West German’s absence from the Games meant that the
duo’s first serious championship battle would not take until two years later, at the European Championships in Athens in 1982. As the games approached in 1982, Thompson had recovered the world record Kratsehmer, overtaking the German’s score of 8469 pts with 8704 pts. But his achievement was short-lived as Hingsen seized custody of the world record by 19pts in Ulm, the first time he held the record. As the European championships drew near Thompson warned Hingsen not to get too attached to his status as the world record holder. “I can only hope that he suffers what I suffered”, a world record for just three weeks.
In the streaming heat of Athens, Thompson’s portentous warning seemed premature. The Olympic champion hurt his calf muscle only a few steps into 100m, and while he was just a few hundredths off the best time of 10.51, the prospects of a performance seemed unlikely. But a strong long jump and a lifetime best of 15.44m in the
Shot Put contributed towards a 114-point lead for Thompson at the end of day one.
Hingsen was a man with a strong second day, and after two no-throws for Thompson in the Discus, the German seemed poised to strike. But Thompson pulled out a final throw over Hingsen’s and continued his charge towards the end of the competition. With Thompson having victory in his sights ahead of 1500m, Hingsen’s world record still seemed safe. With dogged determination, however, Thompson dragged himself to round the last event in 4:23:81 to finish with 8743 pts.
Nine months later Hingsen would stretch the limits of Decathlon performance further to a world record of 8779 pts in Bernhausen, and again to 8798 pts in Mannheim a year later in June 1984.
Between them, Hingsen and Thompson would break the world record seven times between 1980 and 1984.
While Thompson may have collected the Gold Medals at major championships over the years it was the twists and turns of their rivalry that made the moments golden. Hingsen was more at home in the modest domestic environs of Ulm, Bernhausen where he set his World records in 1982,1983 and 1984 respectively.
Each encounter between Thompson and Jingsen was an episode with cliff-hanger waiting in the final scenes. Every conclusion brought with it a promise that the contest for position on the podium, and ownership of the world record, would be played out on a sequel. The personalities of the rivals is well-known nowhere was the difference in their temperaments, apparent than in the platforms to which they each brought their best challenge.
After four decades after their glorious era Thompson v Hingsen, the legacy of the kings of athletics lives on.
