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Decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer was crowned world champion for the second time on Sunday, giving France its first medal of the competition.
And two for the Frenchman Kevin Mayer. The athlete was crowned decathlon world champion for the second time, five years later, and brought the French team its first medal on the last day of competition in Eugene (Oregon), Sunday July 24.
Mayer (30), also a double Olympic silver medalist (2016 and 2021), totaled 8,816 points after ten events to win ahead of Canadian Pierce Lepage (8,701) and American Zachery Ziemek (8,676) .
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???????? Kevin Mayer wins the descathlon #WorldAthleticsChamps with 8⃣8⃣1⃣6⃣ points to Eugene!
???? Second outdoor world title for Montpellier!
???? Third best career total! pic.twitter.com/wbvjdT4Y8J
– FFAthlétisme (@FFAthlétisme) July 25, 2022
The reigning Olympic champion, Canadian Damian Warner, had given up in the middle of the 400m at the end of the first day, hit in the left thigh.
At thirty – he celebrated them in February – Mayer joined the ultra-select club of French athletes who were double world champions individually, alongside the legend Marie-Josée Pérec, crowned in the 400m in 1991 and 1995, and Eunice Barber, she crowned in the heptathlon in 1999 and in the long jump in 2003.
First decathlon since the Tokyo Olympics
At the halfway mark the previous evening, Mayer was in sixth position, some 200 points behind provisional leader, Puerto Rican Ayden Owens-Delerme.
After a good 100m and a performance in his standard length, the world record holder (9,126 points in 2018) had missed his shot put at midday, with a best throw at 14.98m, very far of his record (17.08 m).
Under a hot sun on Sunday, the Montpellier player built his rise in the standings on the pole (5.40 m) and the javelin (beyond 70 m) in particular.
Even if he had a fright at the pole, when he found himself with his back to the wall from 5 m, finally crossed on his third and last try.
As a symbol, he had experienced a similar scenario on his way to his first world title in London in 2017, this time at 5.10m.
Mayer, bothered by his right Achilles heel for long weeks at the start of the year and who had therefore given up the Indoor Worlds in early March in Belgrade, was competing in his first decathlon since the Tokyo Olympics crossed back blocked in the summer. last.
With AFP