Does anyone seriously imagine an Olympic Games in Paris 2024 without Kevin Mayer? As crazy as it may seem, this hypothesis cannot be completely excluded, since the double world decathlon champion has not yet achieved the Olympic minimums. Kevin Mayer (31) revealed on Friday that he was aiming for a decathlon scheduled for mid-December in Brisbane (Australia), to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
The abandonment of the double Olympic silver medalist (2016 and 2021), during the last World Athletics Championships, in August in Budapest, caught by a painful Achilles tendon, had prevented him from achieving these famous Olympic minimums, at namely a total of 8,464 points to collect.
Achilles tendon pain “today non-existent”
“After a month, the pain in the Achilles tendon was superficial, today it is non-existent,” explained Kevin Mayer during a videoconference with journalists. There are other small tensions to resolve, but everything is gradually getting in order. And I can practically confirm my participation in a decathlon in Australia on December 16-17. The earlier I do the minimums, the more it allows me to prepare well for the Olympics. It’s not a necessity but it’s a comfort. »
One of the few sure values of French athletics returned in more detail on Friday on his preparation for these Paris 2024 Olympics: “I have resumed training, there are events where things are going really well, others where I have to go more slowly to be sure not to recreate pain. The sprint in particular, I go there step by step. Right now I’m just doing ten meter sprints.” Kevin Mayer, who will fly to Australia on November 25, leaves the door open to a change of mind about participating in the Brisbane decathlon, depending on how he feels.
He will perhaps be at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March
“We didn’t want to organize a decathlon on purpose [comme pour sa qualification olympique à La Réunion en 2020], he specifies. They wanted to give me the opportunity to do or not to do. When you organize, it’s more difficult to cancel everything at the last moment. There, whether I do it or not, it will take place, that leaves freedom of mind. If there is a little tension, if I feel that I am not ready enough to do a decathlon, we can just do an internship in Australia and then we will do a decathlon later. »
Even in this hypothesis, he already has a plan B, “in February in New Zealand”, and even a plan C, “at the beginning of April in San Diego”, in California. His last completed decathlon dates back to July 2022 at the World Championships in Eugene (Oregon), the scene of his second world title after 2017. As for the winter indoor season, Kevin Mayer is not completely giving it up for the moment. “If I compete, it will be the World Indoor Championships [début mars à Glasgow], to the extent that I feel that I am at my best level, at the right time. At the slightest doubt or the slightest fatigue, I will say no. » As long as it’s a big “yes” for August 2024…