Karel Tilga

Karel Tilga
Tilga in 2023
Personal information
Born (1998-02-05) 5 February 1998[1]
Valga, Estonia[1]
Height200 cm (6 ft 7 in)[1]
Weight95 kg (209 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryEstonia
SportAthletics
Events
Decathlon, Heptathlon
College teamGeorgia Bulldogs
Coached byPetros Kyprianou
Achievements and titles
Personal bestsDecathlon: 8,681 (2023)
Heptathlon: 6,264 (2021)

Karel Tilga (born 5 February 1998) is an Estonian multi-event athlete who competes in the decathlon and indoors heptathlon. He was the NCAA championships both indoors and outdoors in 2021. He competed at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.

Early life

Tilga was born in Valga[2] and grew up in Puka until the eight grade, when the family moved to Tartu.[3] He attended school at Tartu Kristjan Jaak Petersoni Gymnasium before enrolling at the University of Georgia, graduating in 2022.[2]

Career

Competing for Georgia Bulldogs (men), he won their fifth ever NCAA individual title (second in the heptathlon) by scoring a school record 6,264 to win the heptathlon at the 2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in March 2021, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. with the No. 2 all-time collegiate performance.[4] 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.[5] He then won the 2021 Outdoor NCAA Championships in the decathlon in Eugene, Oregon.[6] At the delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan in 2021, he received 0 in pole vault and eventually finished 20th overall.[7] He did not finish the 2022 European Championships after also receiving 0 in pole vault.

Tilga finished fourth in the decathlon at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.[8] 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.[2]

He competed in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the decathlon, finishing in eleventh place overall.[9]

In September 2025, he competed in the decathlon at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[10]

In August, he competed at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, placing fifth overall in decathlon.[11]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventResult
Representing  Estonia
2017 European U20 Championships Grosseto 3rd Decathlon U20 8002 pts
2018 European Championships Berlin – Decathlon DNF
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo 20th Decathlon 7018 pts
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade 9th Heptathlon 5964 pts
European Championships Munich – Decathlon DNF
2023 World Championships Budapest 4th Decathlon 8681 pts
2024 Olympic Games Paris 11th Decathlon 8377 pts
2025 World Championships Tokyo 16th Decathlon 6073 pts
2026 European Championships Birmingham 5th Decathlon 8286 pts

Personal bests

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Outdoor

As of 20 June 2025
Event Performance Location Date Points
Decathlon N/a Budapest 25–26 August 2023 8,604 points
100 metres 10.84 (-0.1 m/s) Budapest 25 August 2023 897 points
Long jump 7.69 m (25 ft 2+3⁄4 in) (0.0 m/s) Athens, Georgia 9 April 2021 982 points
Shot put 16.59 m (54 ft 5 in) Ratingen 22 June 2024 888 points
High jump 2.10 m (6 ft 10+1⁄2 in) Athens, Georgia 9 April 2021 896 points
400 metres 48.49 Götzis 27 May 2023 886 points
110 metres hurdles 14.65 (-0.1 m/s) Götzis 28 May 2023 892 points
Discus throw 51.47 m (168 ft 10+1⁄4 in) Götzis 1 June 2025 901 points
Pole vault 4.80 m (15 ft 8+3⁄4 in) Budapest 26 August 2023 849 points
Javelin throw 73.36 m (240 ft 8 in) Tokyo 5 August 2021 941 points
1500 metres 4:20.73 Budapest 26 August 2023 807 points
Virtual Best Performance 8,939 points

Indoor

As of 20 June 2025
Event Performance Location Date Points
Heptathlon N/a Fayetteville 11–12 March 2021 6,264 points
60 metres 7.07 Belgrade 18 March 2022 858 points
Long jump 7.54 m (24 ft 8+3⁄4 in) Belgrade 18 March 2022 945 points
Shot put 16.04 m (52 ft 7+1⁄4 in) Fayetteville 11 March 2021 854 points
High jump 2.10 m (6 ft 10+1⁄2 in) Tartu 19 January 2018 896 points
60 metres hurdles 8.24 Fayetteville 12 March 2021 922 points
Pole vault 4.96 m (16 ft 3+1⁄4 in) Fayetteville 12 March 2021 898 points
1000 metres 2:36.32 Fayetteville 12 March 2021 915 points
Virtual Best Performance 6,288 points

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Karel Tilga". Olympedia. OlyMADmen. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Tilga, Karel". Eesti spordi biograafiline leksikon (ESBL) (in Estonian). 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  3. ↑ Suviste, Maarius (23 August 2023). "Esimesena medalita jäänud Puka vägilane: teised olid natuke paremad". Postimees (in Estonian). Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  4. ↑ "Karel Tilga - 2020-21 - Track & Field". University of Georgia Athletics. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "European Athletics | European Athletics". european-athletics.com.
  6. ↑ "NCAA Div. I Outdoor Championships". World Athletics. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  7. ↑ "Athletics – Men's Decathlon – Results" (PDF). IOC. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "World Championships". World Athletics. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  9. ↑ "Men's Decathlon es Results - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  10. ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 21 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "European Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 10 August 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
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