Karel Tilga

Karel Tilga
Tilga in 2023
Personal information
Born (1998-02-05) 5 February 1998 (age 26)
Valga, Estonia
Height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Sport
CountryEstonia
SportAthletics
EventDecathlon
College teamGeorgia Bulldogs
Achievements and titles
Personal best8681 (2023)

Karel Tilga (born 5 February 1998) is an Estonian athlete who competes in the decathlon.

Tilga was born in Valga[1] and grew up in Puka until the eight grade, when the family moved to Tartu.[2] He attended school at Tartu Kristjan Jaak Petersoni Gymnasium before enrolling at the University of Georgia, graduating in 2022.[1] In 2021 he won for Georgia Bulldogs (men) their fifth ever NCAA individual title (second in the heptathlon) by scoring a school record 6,264 to win the heptathlon at the NCAA Championships with the No. 2 all-time collegiate performance.[3] He scored a near 400 point-improvement on his decathlon lifetime best at the Specs Town Invitational in Athens, Georgia in April 2021 besting Garrett Scantling by just 8 points. Tilga's score reached the Olympic qualifying standard of 8350 points for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[4] At the Olympics he received 0 in pole vault and eventually finished 20th.[5] He did not finish the 2022 European Championships after also receiving 0 in pole vault.

He is the 2021 NCAA champion in decathlon.[6]

Tilga finished 9th at the 2022 World Indoor Championships.

Tilga was selected as the best male athlete of April 2021 of the European Athletics Association (EAA) and the best male athlete of Estonia in 2023.[1]

He competed in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the decathlon, finishing in eleventh place overall.[7]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Result
Representing  Estonia
2017 European U20 Championships Grosseto, Italy 3rd Decathlon U20 8002 pts
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany Decathlon DNF
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 20th Decathlon 7018 pts
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 9th Heptathlon 5964 pts
European Championships Munich, Germany Decathlon DNF
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 4th Decathlon 8681 pts
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 11th Decathlon 8377 pts

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Tilga, Karel". Eesti spordi biograafiline leksikon (ESBL) (in Estonian). 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  2. ^ Suviste, Maarius (23 August 2023). "Esimesena medalita jäänud Puka vägilane: teised olid natuke paremad". Postimees (in Estonian). Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Karel Tilga - 2020-21 - Track & Field". University of Georgia Athletics.
  4. ^ "European Athletics | European Athletics". european-athletics.com.
  5. ^ "Athletics – Men's Decathlon – Results" (PDF). IOC. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2021.
  6. ^ Karel Tilga at World Athletics
  7. ^ "Men's Decathlon es Results - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
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