World bronze medallist Rico Freimuth showed he is back to his best at the Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf Meeting on Sunday (25), winning the decathlon at the IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting with a world-leading PB of 8663.

Rico Freimuth and Carolin Schafer of Germany are the overnight leaders at the Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting, part of the IAAF Combined Events Challenge, which commenced on Saturday (24).

Last year’s winners, Germany’s Kai Kazmirek and Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton, will return to the famous Mosle Stadium to defend their titles at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis, part of the IAAF Combined Events Challenge, on Saturday and Sunday (28-29).

It was never going to be easy – world records never are – but Ashton Eaton had decided that three years and two months was long enough for his mark of 9039 to stand.

Germany’s Michael Schrader and the Netherlands' Anouk Vetter lead at the end of the first day of the Erdgas Mehrkampf-Meeting in Ratingen, an IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting, on Saturday (27).

Germany’s leading decathletes and heptathletes will be hoping to impress on home soil at the Erdgas Mehrkampf-Meeting in Ratingen, an IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting, on Saturday and Sunday (27-28).

In a repeat of the situation 12 months ago, Germany’s Kai Kazmirek and Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton are the overnight leaders after the first day of the Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis, the third leg of the 2015 IAAF Combined Events Challenge, on Saturday (30).

Having missed the past two full seasons due to injury and childbirth, Germany’s two-time World Championships medallist Jennifer Oeser intends to compete at the Erdgas Mehrkampf-Meeting in Ratingen on 27-28 June, the mid-way stop of the IAAF Combined Events Challenge.

In the wake of the announcement that world record-holder Ashton Eaton and two-time world champion Trey Hardee will duel at the famous Hypo-Meeting in the Austrian town of Gotzis, the organisers have announced that the cream of Germany’s combined events exponents will also be on display at the IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting on 30-31 May.

Rico Freimuth and Lilli Schwarzkopf came out top at the IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting in Ratingen with 8356 and 6426 points respectively on Sunday (29).

Rico Freimuth and Carolin Schafer hold the overnight leads at the end of Saturday (28) at the IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting in Ratingen.

This weekend (28-29) some of Europe’s best combined eventers will use the IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting in Ratingen as a form-test and qualifying event ahead of the European Championships in Zurich in August (12-17).