Frank Busemann

Frank Busemann is a former German decathlete, born on 26 February 1975 in Recklinghausen. He began his career as a 110 metre hurdler and became junior world champion in that event in 1994. His breakthrough came at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he won a surprising decathlon silver medal with a personal best of 8706 points, which made him one of the most popular sportsmen in Germany at the time and earned him the title of German Sportsman of the Year. The following year he took third place at the World Championships. Severe injuries then held him back and he recovered only partly, though he returned for the 2000 Olympics and finished seventh. He retired in 2003 at the age of 28 because of his deteriorating physical condition. His personal best still ranks him fifth among German decathletes, and he later worked as a pundit for athletics coverage on the German television channel Das Erste.