Simon Ehammer is renowned for his combined events excellence and his long jump prowess but did you know these 10 things about the multi-talented Swiss star who has just broken the world heptathlon record with 6670 points at the World Athletics Indoor Championships?
Married to a hammer record-holder
If nominative determinism would have dictated his career path, Simon Ehammer would have taken up the hammer throw rather than the combined events. But did you know that Ehammer’s wife Tatjana is actually the Austrian record-holder in the hammer?
Between them, Simon and Tatjana have all four throwing events covered!
A natural long jumper
Ehammer’s strongest event is the long jump. He holds the world decathlon best with 8.45m and has won world and European outdoor bronze medals in the individual discipline.
“I could wake him up at 6.00am and an hour later he would jump almost eight metres,” said his long-time coach Rene Wyler as quoted by the Luzerner Zeitung.
"I’m a decathlete. It’s my passion."
Ehammer might have picked up more major medals in the long jump than in the decathlon but he still identifies himself first and foremost as a decathlete. "A little bit of my heart would like to jump with the specialists. But I’m a decathlete. It’s my passion," he said in an interview with World Athletics in 2022.
Ehammer broke a 36-year-old Swiss record in 2022 before winning silver behind Germany’s Niklas Kaul at the European Athletics Championships in Munich when he was still only 22.
Shoulder surgery in 2023 prevented Ehammer from qualifying for the decathlon at the 2024 Olympic Games but the 10-events remains his foremost priority for the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
Tyrolean and Nordic-inspired body art
As a homage to his Tyrolean heritage, Ehammer has a tattoo of an Austrian eagle, the symbol of the Tyrol region, on his ribcage along with a Nordic-style 'Vegvisir' (Icelandic for 'signpost') tattoo on his left forearm which is surrounded by the symbols of all 10 decathlon disciplines.
Beneath the 'Vegvisir' is the hammer of the thunder god Thor. "I like Thor as a superhero. I can identify with him,” said Ehammer in an interview with Blick in 2023.
"Hard work will never let you down"
As an Olympian, Ehammer also has the Olympic rings tattooed on his forearm and a motivational quote ‘hard work will never let you down’ tattooed on his bicep.
Going the distance
As if 10 events wasn’t enough, Ehammer added cycling to his repertoire in the off-season. He embarked on a five-day excursion on two wheels across Switzerland and Austria last autumn, covering 539 kilometres and over 6000 metres in elevation. "Everything hurts but I’d do it again either way," he wrote on Instagram.
And this added endurance might have played a role in his world record feat. Ehammer concluded his two days in Torun with a 1000m PB of 2:41.05, taking his score in excess of Ashton Eaton’s world record.
If at first you don’t succeed…
Ehammer won the European U20 decathlon title in 2019 but his international debut two years prior was not the most auspicious one.
Admittedly, Ehammer was by far the youngest decathlete competing at the 2017 European Athletics U20 Championships and not expected to challenge for a medal but Ehammer finished more than 2000 points adrift of eventual winner Niklas Kaul who set a world U20 record of 8435 points. “The results up to that point were so embarrassing for me,” he said in an interview with Schweizer Illustrierte.
A dispirited Ehammer was contemplating withdrawing before the 1500m before his mother Manuela called from home and declared: "You're competing.”
Tickets, please!
Simon Ehammer’s family was in Torun for his world record triumph but they almost missed his crowning moment as tickets for the second evening session had sold out.
Having watched the first six events in the stadium, his family was contemplating following the denouement of the heptathlon from a local pub before Swiss Athletics President Christopher Seiler was made aware of this story. Fortunately, some frantic last-minute provisions were made, allowing them to take their seats in the arena.
"It was so wonderful that we were finally allowed to be there. Right now, I’m just crying tears of joy," said Ehammer’s wife Tatjana in an interview with Blick.ch.
Decathlon via football
Like many athletes, Ehammer’s first sport was football. He played locally for St. Otmar before realising he had potential for athletics after winning local sprint races as part of the nationwide UBS Kids Cup initiative.
Relay ambitious
Simon Ehammer ran the first leg of Switzerland’s 4x100m team at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid. The team clocked a far from shabby 38.88 to finish second in the B race and seventh overall out of 16 teams.
