Ehammer Becomes First Swiss Decathlon Tour Champion

Simon Ehammer became the first Swiss athlete to win the World Athletics Combined Events Tour decathlon standings, confirmed as the 2026 champion with 3703 points. He finished 27 points clear of Germany's Leo Neugebauer, ending a drought that stretched back to the circuit's inception in 1998.

Settling a four-year debt

Ehammer and fellow Swiss Annik Kälin had both placed second on the tour in 2022. This season Kälin joined him as women's heptathlon winner, a historic double that rewrote the record books. Each posted the second-highest winning score ever recorded in their respective standings.

The Götzis stone that sharpened the edge

Ehammer arrived carrying a world indoor heptathlon record of 6670 points from Toruń, where he reclaimed the world title and eclipsed Ashton Eaton's 2012 mark by 25 points. In the decathlon he faced a field stacked with global medallists — Neugebauer, Damian Warner, Pierce LePage and Niklas Kaul among them.

He seized control on the opening day, compiling a historic 4,732 first‑day score that included a world decathlon long‑jump best of 8.51 metres. Sunday became a test of nerve: Ehammer won the 110‑metre hurdles in 13.48, cleared 5.20 metres in the pole vault to extend his lead, and watched Kaul hurl the javelin to a meeting‑record 78.21 metres while Neugebauer chipped away from behind.

Before the closing 1500 metres Ehammer's advantage stood at 73 points. Neugebauer sat on his rival's shoulder until the final lap, but a 4:39.33 finish could not overturn Ehammer's 4:43.22. The Swiss record fell by 203 points — 8,778 against Neugebauer's 8,730, with Kaul third at 8,528.

The tour prize confirmed his status, but the deeper reward lay in a line that had never before included a Swiss name. After a season that married an indoor world record, a Götzis title and a tour trophy, Ehammer closed the year where no Swiss decathlete had been before.