Markus Rooth

Markus Rooth (born 22 December 2001) is a Norwegian track and field athlete. He won the gold medal in decathlon at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the first gold medal for Norway in this event since 1920. He was also the 2023 European U23 champion.^[2]

Markus Rooth

Rooth in 2022
Personal information
Born	(2001-12-22) 22 December 2001 (age 23) Oslo, Norway[1]
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Decathlon: 8,796 (Paris, 2024)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Norway Olympic Games 2024 Paris Decathlon European U23 Championships 2023 Espoo Decathlon 2021 Tallinn Decathlon

Career

In 2020, competing in Bislett, Rooth finished on 8238 points in the decathlon, which places him second in the world U20 all-time standings behind only Niklas Kaul.^[3]

In 2022, Rooth set a Norwegian record in the decathlon with 8307 points in competition in Grosseto, Italy.^[4]

In 2023, Rooth had his Norwegian national record for the decathlon beaten by Sander Skotheim. However, with both men competing at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships, it was Rooth that triumphed with a new personal best, championship record, and national record score of 8608.^[5][6]

He competed in the heptathlon at the 2024 World Athletics Championships in Glasgow in March 2024.^[7] Competing in the decathlon at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome in June 2024, he was contending for a medal before having to pull-out of the competition after sustaining an injury during the pole vault aspect of the event.^[8]

He won the gold medal in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the decathlon, finishing in first place overall with a national record tally of 8796 points.^[9] His compatriot Sander Skotheim who had entered no jump in the pole vault but stayed in the competition to pace Rooth around the 1500 metres course, was later awarded the World Athletics fair play award.^[10]

In January 2025, he was a winner at the 2025 Norwegian Sports Gala held in Trondheim, winning three awards in total, including the Norwegian Sportsman of the Year trophy as well as Breakthrough Sportsperson of the Year and the Name of the Year award, which was voted on by members of the public.^[11]

Personal bests

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

As of 27 November 2024

Event	Performance	Location	Date	Points
Decathlon	8,796 points	Paris	3 August 2024	8,796 points
100 meters	10.71	Paris	2 August 2024	926 points
Long jump	8.01 m (26 ft 3+1⁄4 in)	Rome	10 June 2024	1,063 points
Shot put	15.52 m (50 ft 11 in)	Glasgow	2 March 2024	822 points
High jump	2.03 m (6 ft 7+3⁄4 in)	Espoo	15 July 2023	831 points
400 meters	47.69	Paris	2 August 2024	924 points
110 meters hurdles	14.23	Gothenburg	2 July 2023	945 points
Discus throw	49.80 m (163 ft 4+1⁄2 in)	Paris	3 August 2024	866 points
Pole vault	5.30 m (17 ft 4+1⁄2 in)	Paris	3 August 2024	1,004 points
Javelin throw	66.87 m (219 ft 4+1⁄2 in)	Paris	3 August 2024	842 points
1500 meters	4:29.66	Espoo	16 July 2023	747 points
Virtual Best Performance				8,970 points

Personal life

He is related to the Rooth family of athletes from Oslo, with Andrea Rooth his cousin.^[12][13]