Tennessee to Host 2018 Thorpe Cup

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee will host the 25th-annual Thorpe Cup, an international decathlon and heptathlon competition between the United States and Germany, July 27-28 at Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium.

Both countries nominate as many as seven competitors in the two events with the top five men and top three women scoring points for their respective nations. The U.S. team leads the all-time series 14-10, but Germany has won seven of the last eight meetings.

The event begins Friday, July 27, with opening ceremonies at 4:45 p.m. and competition at 5 p.m. On Saturday, July 28, the cup resumes with the decathlon at 3:30 p.m. and heptathlon at 5 p.m.

Admission is free to all sessions at Tom Black Track.

MEET THE TRACK STARS JULY 26

Spectators are also invited Volunteer Landing Park on Thursday, July 26, at 6 p.m. for the official introduction of the 2018 teams. (Scroll down for a complete list of team members.)

Special guests at the introductory event also include Tennessee decathlon greats and NCAA champions Tom Pappas, Brian Brophy and Aric Long as well as former men's track and field head coach Bill Well, who coached the Vols to two national team titles and four NCAA decathlon championships.

Pappas is one of the most decorated American decathletes in recent memory. He won the 1999 NCAA decathlon title and was on three U.S. Olympic teams. He won gold at the 2003 IAAF World Championships and is a four-time U.S. Champion.

In celebration of the Thorpe Cup's 25th anniversary, members of the inaugural 1993 team will be on hand. Long was a member of that first team, as were fellow Olympians Kip Janvrin and Chris Huffins. Long was a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team after winning the 1991 NCAA title.

Tennessee's coaches will also be on hand during the July 26 introductory event. Tennessee director of track and field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan is beginning her fifth season on Rocky Top. New associate head coach Travis Geopfert competed in the Thorpe Cup three times (2003, 2005, 2006) and has coached numerous athletes in the event.

ABOUT THE THORPE CUP

Considered the world's most important nation vs. nation team combined event challenge, the Thorpe Cup begin in 1993 as the brainchild of VISA-USA Team coach Harry Marra and Team Zehnkampf coach Claus Marek. The event was previously sponsored as the VISA CUP or the JEEP Challenge before being renamed the Thorpe Cup after 1912 Olympic decathlon champion and versatile athlete Jim Thorpe.

The Americans won six of the first seven meets, including the inaugural 1993 contest in Aachen, Germany. The 1999 Thorpe Cup was memorably decided by just five points with the U.S. team winning 38,980 to 38,975. Germany has held a recent advantage by winning seven of the last eight meetings; the Americans most recently won in 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Individually, 15 Olympians have competed in the Thorpe Cup. The championships have seen just three repeat champions in the decathlon: Pappas (2002, 2009), Kip Janvrin (1996, 2000) and Mike Maczey (1999, 2001).

2018 THORPE CUP ROSTER & COACHES
UNITED STATES
Heptathlon
Alissa Brooks-Johnson
Riley Cooks
Annie Kunz
Allison Reaser
Nikki Larch-Miller
Lindsay Schwartz
Ashtin Zamzow

Decathlon
Charlie Card-Childers
Timothy Ehrhardt
Derek Jacobus
Solomon Simmons
Tim Wunderlich
Markus Ballengee
Steven Bastien

Coaches
Chris Richardson - Heptathlon Head Coach
Darcy Ahner - Heptathlon Assistant Coach
Kip Janvrin - Decathlon Head Coach
Petros Kipryianu - Decathlon Assistant Coach

GERMANY
Heptathlon
Anna Maiwald
Michelle Weitzel
Sophie Weissenberg
Vanessa Grimm
Lisa Steinlage

Decathlon
Eitel Manuel
Luca Diekmann
Tim Nowak
Florian Obst
Niklas Ransiek
Lennard Biere
Felix Hepperle

Coaches
Georg Zwirner - Decathlon Coach
Stefan Press - Decathlon Coach
Uwe Euchner - Heptathlon Coach

University of Tennessee Athletics

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