PARIS – After running a painful, rain-soaked 1,500 meters to finish the Olympic decathlon, Zach Ziemek sat down on the track and let the exhaustion envelop him.
The Itasca native had partially torn his left LCL the previous day during the long jump, instantly dashing his hopes for a medal and making the remaining eight events increasingly difficult. The final four laps around the track – never his favorite event– were a test of determination, done almost solely to secure his place in the U.S. record books.
“I was going to finish no matter what,” said Ziemek, who finished the decathlon in 17th place. “I was going to do whatever it took, whether it was crawl or hop on one leg, whatever it was going to be.”
As he watched the medalists celebrate, Ziemek, 31, called no attention to himself or the feat he had just accomplished.
When he crossed the finish line, Ziemek became the first American athlete to complete three Olympic decathlons. And he treated the accomplishment much the way he has pursued his world-class career: quietly, with as little fanfare and fuss as possible.
The record, however, clearly meant something to Ziemek. With each event following his knee injury, his limp became more pronounced and the amount of kinesiology tape grew. He appeared so hobbled during his last javelin throw, he nearly slipped on the wet runway while holding a pointed spear next to his head.
Less than an hour later, he was back on the track for the 1,500-meter race.
“A lot of people forget the Olympics were started to have the best fight. It was not always about the medal and the result,” he said. “I get obsessed with medals, too, but you have to remember it’s also about something bigger than that. I fought out there. I fought really hard.”
Going into the Paris Games, he was one of only two American decathletes to qualify for three Olympics. The other athlete, Tom Papas, had been named to three teams but only completed one full decathlon.
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Ziemek competed in the Olympic decathlons in 2016 and 2020, finishing 7th and 6th respectively. He knew if he could complete in all 10 events – 100-meter sprint, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter run, 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and the 1,500-meter run — in the Stade de France, he would stand alone in the annals of U.S. track and field.
“That’s what drove me the entire time,” he said. “I had an injury right away in the long jump and didn’t know if I was going to be able to finish or if I would have to stop. But I thought about what my coach and I have been through together. What my family has sacrificed to get this far. There was no way I wasn’t finishing. And to be able to accomplish something so great, even though I didn’t get the medal I wanted, is pretty special.”
Ziemek was introduced to the decathlon in middle school when he attended a Lake Park High School track camp in Roselle. He went on to compete for the Lancers, winning three state championships his senior year. Two of those field disciplines – long jump and pole vault — are now among his strongest events on the world stage.
The grandson of Notre Dame and Chicago Cardinals football star Tony Pasquesi, Ziemek found that the arduous task of mastering 10 separate disciplines came easy to him from a young age. Even the events he didn’t excel at – the 400-meter sprint and 1,500-meter run – weren’t serious obstacles to his success. In high school, he once stopped for a drink of water during the final 1,500-meter race and still finished with enough points to win a Junior Olympic competition.
By the time he arrived at the University of Wisconsin, he had familiarity with the decathlon, and it gave him an advantage over the athletes who were trying the multisport competition for the first time.
“He wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for his Lake Park coaches. First of all, the had a multisport camp, which is rare,” said his dad, Rick Ziemek. “They’re the ones who saw Zach and said,’ boy, he’s fast, he can jump, he can pole vault.’ He was really the right kid for the right sport.”
At Wisconsin, Ziemek became a five-time All-American and set the Big Ten record for both the decathlon and the indoor heptathlon. He made the world team in 2015 and has represented the United States in international competitions ever since, meaning he has spent nearly a decade missing family events, vacations and holidays in pursuit of his goals.
“When I made my first Olympic team, someone asked me what I would give for an Olympic medal,” he said. “My answer was ‘everything.’ And that’s what I’ve done, I’ve given up everything for this chance.”
The journey has been even more difficult because – despite three Olympic appearances and winning bronze at the track and field world championships in 2022 – he does not have a big shoe company sponsoring him or any major endorsement deals. A volunteer multisport track coach at Wisconsin, he recently received a $30,000 grant from the U.S. Track and Field Foundation.
The big brands gravitate toward the Olympic stars, both on the field and on social media. But in an athlete’s village filled with influencers and viral TikTokers, Ziemek has always kept his head down and prepared for competition.
“He has dedicated his life to a sport so he can represent the United States with class and dignity,” his dad said. “That’s all he has ever cared about. And I think that’s what we’re most proud of.”
After finishing his event, Ziemek said he planned to head back to Wisconsin, where he trains, to get his knee checked out and begin working toward next season. He said he intends to stick around until 2028, when he’ll be 35.
“So I’ll be older,” he said. “But the old man has still got some kick.”
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