Zach Ziemek
American decathlete (born 1993)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zachery (Zach) Ziemek (born February 23, 1993) is an American athlete competing in the decathlon. Ziemek is one of only two American men to compete in 3 decathlon competitions at the Olympic Games and the only American in history to finish 3 Olympic Decathlons (2016, 2020, 2024).[2] Ziemek won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene with a personal best score of 8676.[3] In 2021 he finished 6th at the Tokyo Olympics.[4] He represented his country at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, where he finished 15th.[4] Ziemek finished 7th in the decathlon at the 2016 Olympics.[5]
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Ziemek at the 2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zachery Ziemek | ||||||||||||||
| Born | February 23, 1993 Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Home town | Itasca, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Education | University of Wisconsin–Madison | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||
Event | Decathlon | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
At the 2020 United States Olympic Trials (track and field) Ziemek came third behind Garrett Scantling and Steve Bastien (athlete) with an Olympic qualifying score to earn a spot at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[6][7] At the trials, Ziemek set the world record in the decathlon jumping events with performances of 7.74 in the long jump, 2.14 in the high jump, and 5.55 in the pole vault.[8] Only three other men have ever gone higher in an 8000+pt decathlon: Erki Nool (5.60 m in his 8628, 1998), Aleksandr Averbukh (5.60 m in his 8084, 1997) and Timothy Bright (5.70 m in his 8216, 1988)[9]
His main personal bests are 8676 points in the decathlon (Eugene 2022)[10] and 6173 points in the indoor heptathlon (Birmingham 2016).[4]
Ziemek resides in Sun Prairie, WI and trains at his alma mater the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is coached by Nate Davis, assistant coach for the Wisconsin track & field team. He is married to Victoria Paulson Ziemek.[11]
Competition record
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the  United States | |||||
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 15th | Decathlon | 8006 pts[4] |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 7th | Decathlon | 8392 pts[4] |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | – | Decathlon | DNF |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 6th | Heptathlon | 5941 pts |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 6th | Decathlon | 8435 pts |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, United States | 3rd | Decathlon | 8676 pts |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | — | Decathlon | DNF |
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 17th | Decathlon | 7983 pts |
Personal bests
Outdoor[4]
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Indoor[4]
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