| Thomas Van der Plaetsen | |
| Fullname: | Thomas Van der Plaetsen |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Sport: | Track and field athletics |
| Event: | Decathlon |
| Birth Date: | 1990 12, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Ghent, Belgium |
| Height: | 186 cm[1] |
| Weight: | 81 kg |
| Pb: | 8430 pts |
| Worlds: | 2 |
| Coach: | Michael Van Der Plaetsen |
| Education: | Ghent University[2] |
Thomas Van der Plaetsen (born 24 December 1990 in Ghent) is a Belgian decathlete. His biggest achievements are winning the gold medal for decathlon at the 2016 European Athletics Championships, winning bronze medal for heptathlon at the 2014 World Indoor Championships, and gold medal for decathlon at the 2013 and 2015 Summer Universiade.
| Representing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | European Junior Championships | Novi Sad, Serbia | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Decathlon | 7769 pts |
| 2011 | European Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 6th | Heptathlon | 6020 | |
| European U23 Championships | Ostrava, Czech Republic | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Decathlon | 8157 | |
| World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 13th | Decathlon | 8069 | ||
| 2013 | Universiade | Kazan, Russia | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Decathlon | 8164 |
| World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 15th | Decathlon | 8255 | ||
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 3rd | Heptathlon | 6259 | |
| European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 10th | Decathlon | 8105 | ||
| 2015 | Universiade | Gwangju, South Korea | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Decathlon | 7952 |
| World Championships | Beijing, China | 14th | Decathlon | 8035 | ||
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Decathlon | 8218 |
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 8th | Decathlon | 8332 | ||
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | – | Decathlon | DNF | |
| 2018 | European Championships | Berlin, Germany | – | Decathlon | DNF | |
| 2019 | European Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 6th | Heptathlon | 5989 | |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 9th | Decathlon | 8125 | ||
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | – | Decathlon | DNF | |
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 11th | Decathlon | 8084 | |
Outdoor
Indoor
In October 2014, it became known that during an unannounced doping control test in September 2014, Van der Plaetsen had tested positive for the hormone HCG. On 2 October 2014, Van der Plaetsen revealed that those heightened HCG levels were caused by up to then undiagnosed testicular cancer, for which he was then treated.[3]