U.S. women try to extend series streak to 11 consecutive victories, with American men seeking first win since 2016, as combined events showcase against Germany and defending champion Bechmann resumes following two-year break

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

For the first time since 2019, the Thorpe Cup event will showcase several of the elite decathletes and heptathletes from the United States and Germany in a two-day competition Saturday and Sunday at Turner Stadium at St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas.

After a two-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the countries will square off again in a head-to-head format, with the scores of the top five competitors in each gender being counted toward an overall team result.

WATCH THE U.S. AND GERMANY COMPETE IN THORPE CUP LIVE JULY 9-10 ON USATF.TV

Although the event began in 1993 in Aachen, Germany, the 2019 edition of the Thorpe Cup marked the first time the top five athletes in both the heptathlon and the decathlon were scored for each country. Prior to that competition, it was the top five decathletes and only the three highest-scoring heptathletes for each country.

It will be the first Thorpe Cup event held on U.S. soil since the 2018 competition in Knoxville, Tenn.

The American women prevailed in 2019 against host Germany in Bernhausen by a margin of 28,419 points to 28,245 to secure the 10th straight triumph in the series. The last German victory came in 2009 in Marburg.

Germany triumphed in the decathlon by a 37,809 to 37,674 margin against the United States for its third consecutive victory in the series. The last win for the American decathletes came in 2016 in Arkansas.

The lineup for the American women includes reigning U.S. pentathlon champion and World Indoor finalist Chari Hawkins, who ranks No. 9 in the world this year in the heptathlon with 6,243 points. Hawkins was a late addition to the U.S. roster, which also includes Alissa Brooks-Johnson, a member of the victorious 2019 American lineup.

Brooks-Johnson, 26, finished fifth in May at the USATF Combined Events Championships in Arkansas with 5,736 points.

Duke graduate Erin Marsh, making her debut in international competition for the U.S., took third June 10-11 at the NCAA Division 1 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., and is searching for her first 6,000-point performance after four career 5,900-point efforts.

Stanford junior Allie Jones, who finished fourth at the NCAA final and boasts a personal-best 5,832 points, is also on the U.S. roster, as well as Texas Tech senior Callie Jones (no relation), the 14th-place competitor at the Division 1 championship meet with a top mark of 5,864 points.

Cheyenne Williamson, a two-time NCAA Division 2 heptathlon champion at Saginaw Valley State, is also part of the American lineup with her personal-best 5,757 points.

Melanie Winters, 28, an NCAA Division 3 champion at Baldwin Wallace, is also on the U.S. roster with a lifetime-best 5,653 points, Sarah Glidden, 27, a Division 3 champ at Wisconsin-Eau Claire and assistant coach at Duke, finished sixth at the USATF Combined Events Championships with 5,608 points and rounds out the American lineup.

Nicola Ader, a University of Nevada-Reno graduate and NCAA Division 1 All-American, is one of the five heptathletes competing for Germany. Ader produced a personal-best 5,836 points in April at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific.

Janina Lange is right behind Ader with 5,830 points, Anna-Lena Obermaier has a personal-best 5,829 points, Marieke Roesing boasts a lifetime-best 5,809 and Laura Voss has a top mark of 5,542 points for Germany.

Iowa sophomore Austin West, who finished fifth in the NCAA Division 1 final, leads the American decathlon lineup with a personal-best 8,179 points in April at the Mt. SAC Relays. West ranks No. 17 in the world this year.

Jack Flood, 26, returns from the 2019 Thorpe Cup lineup for the U.S. and the former SUNY Cortland standout has a top career mark of 8,038 points.

Hunter Price, a 27-year-old competitor who finished fifth in Arkansas at the USATF Combined Events Championships and boasts a lifetime-best 8,035 points, is also part of the American roster.

Dylan Cooper, a Division 3 runner-up at Wisconsin-Eau Claire and assistant coach at North Carolina, secured sixth at the USATF Combined Events Championships with a personal-best 7,876 points.

Jackson Walker, 30, was eighth in Arkansas and has a lifetime-best 7.483 points.

William Eggers, a 2019 Marquette graduate, placed ninth at the U.S. final and achieved his personal-best 7,220 points last year at St. Mark’s School of Texas.

Andreas Bechmann, 22, was the overall winner for Germany at the 2019 Thorpe Cup with 8,132 points and has since improved his top mark to 8,142.

Max Vollmer, a junior at Oregon, is also a member of the German lineup and boasts a lifetime-best 8,022 points from the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Nico Beckers is seeking his first 8,000-point effort after accumulating 7,940 in May in Germany, Malik Diakite has a personal-best 7,910, Nils Laserich enters the event with a top of mark of 7,691 and Luca Ole Dieckmann boasts a lifetime-best 7,496 points.

Marcel Meyer, a 21-year-old athlete who didn’t complete his first senior level decathlon in Germany in May, produced a 7,607-point performance in Under-20 competition.