[2] He first represented the Soviet Union in a major international meet at the 1982 European Championships in Athens, where he placed sixth;[3] Track & Field News ranked him fifth in the world that year.

[6][7] He entered the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki ranked third on season bests (behind Jürgen Hingsen and Siegfried Wentz, and ahead of eventual winner Daley Thompson), but dropped out of contention after four events; after an average start, he no-heighted in the high jump, missing three times at his opening height of 1.91 m.[7] As in 1982, he placed fifth in the world in Track & Field News's year-end rankings.

[9] At the Soviet Championships he scored his personal best and another Soviet record, 8652 points;[6][10] after new scoring tables were introduced, this became 8698 points, which as of 2015[update] remains the Russian national record and ranks 18th on the world all-time list.

[3] Degtyaryov missed the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles due to the Soviet boycott, but was still ranked a career-best third in the world.

[4][8] Degtyaryov remained in good shape for two more years, ranking in the world's top 10 in both 1985 and 1986 and winning gold at the 1986 Goodwill Games, ahead of Soviet record holder Aleksandr Apaychev.