The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
With 2023 behind him, Leo Neugebauer sets his sights on the present
04.09.2024 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The Bowerman finalist and NCAA decathlon record holder discusses the indoor and outdoor seasons and the upcoming Olympics
When Leo Neugebauer crossed the 1500m finish line last June to win the 2023 NCAA decathlon title, he was over 5,000 miles from his home in Germany.
But as he caught his breath inside Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium, it didn't feel that way.
"That made the whole thing even more special," Neugebauer says now. "Being able to cross the finish line. Win. Throw up the Horns. Everyone was cheering."
He pauses.
"Being able to look up in the stands and see a bunch of my friends and family cheering. It was a great feeling."
Neugebauer's 1500m capped off a 8,836 point performance, good enough to beat the NCAA record and the 39-year-old German national record. He now holds the 8th best all-time score in the event.
But Neugebauer, who became the first UT male finalist for The Bowerman, is not satisfied. As he finished the indoor season as the NCAA heptathlon champion and now is midway through the outdoor season, Neugebauer knows he has room to improve.
"Not winning the [Bowerman] was kind of like a 'You're not there yet,'" Neugebauer said. "You just have to keep working. Keep showing up. Keep doing you."
There are also heavy expectations for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Neugebauer, however, will change little about his training or approach.
"I'm not really thinking too much about the bigger picture," Neugebauer said. "My personal goal is just to be very, very consistent…If I'm consistent doing the things that I know I can do, then there's literally no barrier to what I can accomplish."
Thus far, Neugebauer has competed in the 2022 World Championships and the 2023 World Athletic Championships. He placed tenth and fifth, respectively. More importantly, he gained experience.
"In the Olympic year, everybody is locked in," Neugebauer said. "I feel like I have a really good starting point because I had a really good season last year. At the World Championships, I could have done a little bit better, but there's a lot of things that I learned."
Neugebauer has learned a lot in college, too. He credits competing against the two previous collegiate decathlon record holders, Kyle Garland of Georgia and Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas.
All three are 23 years old. They're also all Olympic hopefuls.
"If it weren't for the other two, we wouldn't have pushed the level of decathlon to where it is right now," Neugebauer said. "It's just ridiculous how high the level is now. A couple years ago, we could go 1, 2, 3 at the World Championships. Pushing each other in college is just a huge thing for all of us."
Back in Germany, it was Neugebauer's closest friends that pushed him. The first sport Neugebauer played, though, was soccer. He started at the age of five.
"I grew up in a small city, and we didn't have too many sports," Neugebauer said. "In Europe, everybody plays soccer. I was always one of the faster guys on the soccer team, so [my parents] threw me into track and field as well."
That was at age six, and he excelled at both sports until he was 15 years old. Eventually, though, Neugebauer had to choose.
"It was just too much time," Neugebauer said. "I didn't have any time to focus on both sports, so I had to decide. In track and field I had really good friends — some of my best friends."
Though Neugebauer was just a teenager at the time, he faced plenty of competition. Warm ups would regularly consist of soccer, frisbee, and basketball, and practices were intense.
"We trained often with older people, which made it more competitive and made us try to compete with people that were better than us, which helped," Neugebauer said.
Neugebauer excelled despite the competition. And he excelled in all things; it's why he's a decathlete.
"I was always really good at most events, and it made no sense to focus on just one event or two events if I was good at so many different events," he said.
Years later, Neugebauer heard his friend was headed to the United States for university. It's the first time he considered that as an option.
"I hadn't even heard about the NCAA," Neugebauer said. "When you're in Germany, you have no clue how anything works. You don't know which universities are good, what you should watch out for, or anything."
He finally came around to the idea of college in the US. He visited Iowa and Minnesota, but he loved Texas immediately.
"First of all, I love warm weather," Neugebauer said. "Second of all, Texas is just such a big school, has a lot of money, and is in a great city…Every single year I am here, I am more and more glad that I came here."
Neugebauer is glad that Texas excels across all sports. It drives him to be better.
"You have so many Olympians around you," Neugebauer said. "You have the Olympic champion in swimming just walking by the TANC [Texas Athletics Nutrition Center] eating…I'm just a normal dude with all the other great athletes"
And Neugebauer takes advantage of Austin. He regularly go-karts, plays Topgolf, and attends comedy shows. His dream came true, he said, when Dave Chappelle performed at the Moody Center last July.
His favorite destination, though, is coffee shops.
"I just love going to new coffee shops, just sitting down, doing some work, drinking some coffee," Neugebauer said. "I'm just at peace doing that."
Neugebauer does not forget his roots, though. While he was born in Germany and his mom is German, his dad is from Cameroon.
"It's really interesting having those two completely different sides, but I feel like it's also good to unite different traditions and different culture," Neugebauer said.
While his family follows German tradition for Christmas and other holidays, they celebrate their African identity every last Sunday of the month. His family and nearby Germans from Cameroon come together for a meeting, where you "dress up, bring your instruments, eat together, and have fun," Neugebauer said.
When Neugebauer returns to Germany, he spends plenty of time around his family and friends, none of whom are competing in track and field anymore.
"It definitely feels a little bit different in the public, because there's just more attention, more media," Neugebauer said. "Like when I'm coming into the training facility, there's a lot of eyes on me and stuff. But in general, with friends and family, it's all the same old."
One thing that has changed since Neugebauer left for Texas is his social media following. Posting creative edits, training advice, and vlogs, he has gathered over 212 thousand followers on Instagram alone. He also posts on TikTok and YouTube.
"It gives me something to do, something to work on by myself outside of just my sport," Neugebauer said. "I love editing, trying to be creative by coming up with new edits and skills."
It's a creative outlet for him, and something to do to get his mind off the track.
"I think most people that do a sport that is very competitive…know that you have to have something outside of the sport," Neugebauer said. "Having your mind somewhere else besides always like, 'Oh, I have to perform at this and this point like this.'"
Neugebauer has mastered the structured life. If it isn't obvious from his training — lifts three times per week, practicing a minimum of two events per day, tons of rehab — and content editing, it's clear from his room.
His walls are white but for the blue hue his LED lights emit. The walls are unobstructed but for an assortment of medals, all perfectly hung in triangular shape. Then there's the shoe rack; Neugebauer has an NIL deal with Nike.
"I like having structure in everything," Neugebauer says, swiveling in his gaming chair. "I like having a to-do list and I feel like a clean room is the start of everything."
He may live near campus, but Neugebauer trains like a professional athlete. Unfortunately, that means he cannot play other sports.
"I love doing different sports," Neugebauer said. "Even beach volleyball is a lot of fun. Soccer, obviously, is a lot of fun. But in order to win the bigger picture, you have to give up small things."
I ask what other sport Neugebauer would play if it wasn't track.
"I see myself playing a tight end in football," he replies. "I'm tall — I'm 6'7", I'm 240 pounds, and I have a good wingspan, I can catch some balls."
I agree with him. Then I ask if he's ever considered it.
"Our head coach said that some of the football coaches came and asked and stuff," Neugebauer says. "But it went too well in track. We have to stay in track."
Then he smiles and says one last thing.
"At some point, maybe after the Olympics, I can try different things out and just have some fun."
Players Mentioned
