The men's decathlon starts 11.05 a.m. Friday Estonian time, with the 100-meter sprint, and three Estonians are competing – Karel Tilga and Johannes Erm join Õiglane.

The discipline is a signal one for Estonia – Erki Nool won decathlon gold in Sydney back in 2000.

Õiglane, 30, has been competing on the international circuit for a long time now, but only now is making his Olympic debut in Paris.

Of this he said: "It's really cool! I've taken part in World Championships and European Championships, but the atmosphere here in the Olympic Village is completely different."

"Seeing athletes from so many different countries and disciplines heightens the atmosphere even more. The stadium is amazing, and the track felt very quick. I understand that quite a lot of spectators will be coming too – that will definitely give we three a boost. This is going to be a really exciting decathlon," he added.

Õiglane won bronze at the European Championships two years ago, and set his current PB of 8,524 points at last year's World Championships, where he finished sixth.

He had to withdraw during the high jump stage at this year's European Championships in June, after incurring a minor knee injury in the long jump.

However, Õiglane said, he does not go into events with personal bests in mind.

"It would be strange to say that we come to a competition without aiming for a personal best. I go to every competition with the goal of setting a record, to give my best and to do what I do best," he said at a press conference on Thursday

He, Tilga and Erm were also asked to name decathletes to watch out for in Paris, and named Ayden Owens-Delerme (Puerto Rico), Leo Neugebauer (Germany) and Sander Skotheim (Norway), among others.

The decathlon starts Friday morning, and ends Saturday night, with the 1,500 meters.

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