Markus Rooth


Markus Rooth 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.

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.
In 2022, Rooth set a Norwegian record in the decathlon with 8307 points in competition in Grosseto, Italy.
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.
He competed in the heptathlon at the 2024 World Athletics Championships in Glasgow in March 2024. 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.
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. 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.
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.

Personal bests

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
Outdoor
EventPerformanceLocationDate
800 metres2:10.13Sandnes4 March 2018
110 metres hurdles14.23 Gothenburg2 July 2023
Long jump Askøy30 July 2021
High jumpBærum14 June 2019
Pole vaultAthens6 July 2025
Shot putStjørdal26 June 2022
Discus throwOslo21 April 2022
Javelin throwAlbufeira14 May 2023

Indoor
EventPerformanceLocationDate
60 metres7.40Steinkjer10 March 2018
200 metres22.73Bærum11 February 2018
800 metres2:00.82Sandnes24 February 2019
Long jumpUlsteinvik3 March 2019
High jumpBærum9 February 2020
Pole vaultBærum21 December 2019

Personal life

He is related to the Rooth family of athletes from Oslo, with Andrea Rooth his cousin.