Markus Rooth has emerged as the favourite for a shock Olympic decathlon gold after back-to-back personal bests saw him go top into the concluding 1,500 metres with a chance to win Norway’s second gold 104 years after their first in the multi-event. A 5.30m pole vault plus 49.80m in the javelin saw Rooth move 16 points clear of German world leader Leo Neugebauer. Neugebauer was below his personal best in both events and his best 1,500m result is slower than Rooth’s. Also in contention is Grenada’s Victor Linden, who is 60 points off the top. The path to gold for Neugebauer appeared clear when T…