Thomas Van der Plaetsen

Thomas Van der Plaetsen (born 24 December 1990 in Ghent) is a Belgian decathlete.^[3] His biggest achievements are winning the gold medal for decathlon at the 2016 European Athletics Championships, winning bronze medal for heptathlon at the 2014 World Indoor Championships, and gold medal for decathlon at the 2013 and 2015 Summer Universiade.

Thomas Van der Plaetsen

Thomas Van der Plaetsen during the 2014 World Indoor Championships
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Van der Plaetsen
Born	(1990-12-24) 24 December 1990 (age 34) Ghent, Belgium
Education	Ghent University[1]
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Weight	81 kg (179 lb)[2]
Sport
Country	Belgium
Sport	Track and field athletics
Event	Decathlon
Coached by	Michael Van Der Plaetsen
Achievements and titles
World finals	2
Personal best	8430 pts
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Belgium European Championships 2016 Amsterdam Decathlon World Indoor Championships 2014 Sopot Heptathlon Universiade 2013 Kazan Decathlon 2015 Gwangju Decathlon

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Belgium
2009	European Junior Championships	Novi Sad, Serbia	1st	Decathlon	7769 pts
2011	European Indoor Championships	Paris, France	6th	Heptathlon	6020
	European U23 Championships	Ostrava, Czech Republic	1st	Decathlon	8157
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	13th	Decathlon	8069
2013	Universiade	Kazan, Russia	1st	Decathlon	8164
	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	15th	Decathlon	8255
2014	World Indoor Championships	Sopot, Poland	3rd	Heptathlon	6259
	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	10th	Decathlon	8105
2015	Universiade	Gwangju, South Korea	1st	Decathlon	7952
	World Championships	Beijing, China	14th	Decathlon	8035
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	1st	Decathlon	8218
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	8th	Decathlon	8332
2017	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	–	Decathlon	DNF
2018	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	–	Decathlon	DNF
2019	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	6th	Heptathlon	5989
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	9th	Decathlon	8125
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	–	Decathlon	DNF
2024	European Championships	Rome, Italy	11th	Decathlon	8084

Personal bests

Outdoor

• 100 metres – 11.04 (+0.6 m/s; Götzis 2014)
• 400 metres – 48.64 (Ostrava 2011)
• 1500 metres – 4:32.52 (Götzis 2011)
• 110 metres hurdles – 14.36 (-0.3 m/s; Götzis 2021)
• High jump – 2.17 (Daegu 2011)
• Pole vault – 5.45 (Talence 2019)
• Long jump – 7.90 (+1.1 m/s; Götzis 2021)
• Shot put – 14.28 (Parow 2019)
• Discus Throw – 48.81 (Deinze 2021)
• Javelin Throw – 65.31 (Moscow 2013)
• Decathlon – 8430 (Götzis 2021)

Indoor

• 60 metres – 7.13 (Sopot 2014)
• 1000 metres – 2:40.50 (Sopot 2014)
• 60 metres hurdles – 8.06 (Mondeville 2014)
• High jump – 2.13 (Ghent 2012)
• Pole vault – 5.50 (Ghent 2019)
• Long jump – 7.78 (Apeldoorn 2014)
• Shot put – 14.32 (Sopot 2014)
• Heptathlon – 6259 (Sopot 2014)

Health problems

In October 2014, it became known that during an unannounced doping control test in September 2014, Van der Plaetsen had tested positive for the hormone HCG. On 2 October 2014, Van der Plaetsen revealed that those heightened HCG levels were caused by up to then undiagnosed testicular cancer, for which he was then treated.^[4]