Lev Alexeyevich Lobodin

Lev Alexejewitsch Lobodin ( Russian Лев Алексеевич Лободин , English transcription Lev Lobodin ; born April 1, 1969 in Rossosh in Voronezh Oblast ) is a former decathlete . With 25 decathlons over 8000 points, the 1.88m tall Lobodin with a competition weight of 93 kg is one of the most consistent decathletes. He won bronze at the European Championships three times in a row from 1994 to 2002. In addition to a bronze medal at the European Indoor Championships in 1998, he won a silver medal and two bronze medals at the World Indoor Championships.

Lev Lobodin began his career in the Soviet Union . In 1992 he started for the Commonwealth of Independent States . From 1993 to 1996 he competed for Ukraine . Since 1997 he started for Russia .

Athletic career

Career until 1996 for Ukraine

In 1991 Lobodin topped the 8000 point mark for the first time as the winner of the Ukrainian Championship in Kiev with 8018 points. At the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Genoa in 1992 , the heptathlon for men was held as a demonstration competition. The French Christian Plaziat won ahead of the Czechoslovak Robert Změlík , Lobodin took sixth place with 5987 points.

The heptathlon was also held as a demonstration competition at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Toronto in 1993 . The American Dan O'Brien set a new world record with 6,476 points, behind the Canadian Mike Smith and Eduard Hämäläinen , who was then running for Belarus , Lobodin was fourth with 6,017 points. In the 1993 outdoor season, Lobodin improved his decathlon best to 8156 points by finishing sixth at the Mösle all- around meeting in Götzis.

The heptathlon was officially held for the first time at the 1994 European Indoor Championships in Paris-Bercy. Lobodin abandoned the competition after a somersault in the pole vault. In Helsinki at the European Athletics Championships in 1994 , Frenchman Alain Blondel won ahead of Swede Henrik Dagård . With 8201 points, Lobodin won the bronze medal from defending champion Christian Plaziat. At the World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg in 1995 , Lobodin reached 8196 points, taking seventh place. At the invitation meeting in Talence at the end of the 1995 season, Lobodin improved his best performance to 8286 points. He improved this mark to 8315 points in Götzis in 1996. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Lobodin gave up after the first day.

Career from 1997 for Russia

In the 1997 indoor season, Lobodin only competed at the Russian Championships in Lipetsk and won his first Russian championship with a new personal best of 6196 points. After 8184 points in Götzis, Lobodin failed again at the 1997 World Championships in Göteborg with a Salto Nullo in the pole vault. At the end of the season in Talence, Lobodin missed the 8000 point mark with 7999 points.

The 1998 indoor season began Lobodin with a third place in the invitation competition in Tallinn . At the European Indoor Championships in Valencia he was also third with 6226 points behind the Polish Sebastian Chmara and the Hungarian Dezső Szabó . In Götzis Lobodin improved his decathlon best to 8414 points. At the European Championships in Budapest in 1998 , Lobodin completed his best decathlon ever with 8571 points. He was 96 points behind Erki Nool from Estonia and 16 points behind Hämälainen, who started for Finland. Behind the Icelander Jon Arnar Magnusson , the two Czechs Tomáš Dvořák and Roman Šebrle followed in 5th and 6th place .

1999 Lobodin was again third in Tallinn, at the World Indoor Championships in Maebashi he placed sixth with 6153 points. In Götzis he was third with 8427 points. At the World Championships in Seville , Lobodin reached 8494 points and fifth place. He was 53 points short of the bronze medal of American Chris Huffins . After skipping the indoor season and giving up in Götzis before the pole vault, the decathlon at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney was Lobodin's first full decathlon to Seville. With 8071 points he finished 13th.

2001 Lobodin was second in Tallinn with 6196 points. At the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon , he finished third with 6202 points behind Roman Šebrle and Jon Arnar Magnusson. In Götzis he reached 8,465 points in fourth. At the World Championships in Edmonton Lobodin fought for 8352 points and fifth place. However , he was more than 250 points behind the bronze medal of the Briton Dean Macey .

After Lobodin had to abandon the heptathlon in Tallinn in 2002, he skipped Götzis and started the season in Ratingen with 8433 points. At the European Championships in Munich , 8390 points earned him his third bronze medal at the European Championships. 400 points behind Šebrle and only 48 points behind Nool, Lobodin was 52 points ahead of Magnusson.

2003 Lobodin won his second Russian championship in Moscow with 6412 points. At the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham , this number of points would have been enough for him to win. He reached 6297 points in Birmingham and won silver behind Tom Pappas , but was over a hundred points ahead of Šebrle. At the World Championships in Paris / Saint-Denis , Pappas won ahead of Šebrle, Lobodin was sixth with 8198 points.

In 2004 Lobodin won his third Russian title with 6149 points. At the World Indoor Championships in Budapest , Šebrle won ahead of Bryan Clay , Lobodin won his last international medal with 6203 points. In Götzis, Lobodin completed his 25th and last 8000 point competition with 8240 points. At the Olympic Games in Athens , he gave up after two disciplines.

Best performance in the individual disciplines

100 m	10.66 s	(2001 in Götzis)
Long jump	7.56 m	(1999 in Götzis)
Shot put	16.30 m	(2002 in Ratingen)
high jump	2.10 m	(1991 in Kiev)
400 m	48.39 s	(1996 in Götzis)
110 m hurdles	13.94 s	(1999 in Götzis)
Discus throw	49.44 m	(2002 in Talence)
Pole vault	5.20 m	(1998 in Budapest)
Javelin throw	59.00 m	(1995 in Talence)
1500 meter run	4: 29.95 min	(1991 in Sochi)

Lobodin set his best performance of 8571 points in 1998 in Budapest.

literature

• Hans van Kuijen: 2004 Annual Combined Events. Helmond 2005.
• Peter Matthews (Ed.): Athletics 2004. SportsBooks, Cheltenham 2004, ISBN 1-899807-21-7 .

Web links

• Lev Lobodin in the database of World Athletics (English)