Ultimately, it won’t be this time. Kevin Mayer has abandoned the idea of participating in the Brisbane decathlon in order to try to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, an attempt which he postpones until March 2024. It is difficult not to worry after such an announcement, but the double Olympic silver medalist wanted to reassure his people during a press briefing in the presence of a handful of journalists.
“It was the first option, the most comfortable, but also the most reckless, because I left Budapest (2023 Worlds at the end of August) injured,” he summarized from Brisbane where he has been training for several weeks .
A return to Brisbane would have been premature
The double decathlon world champion spoke on Wednesday of the residue of discomfort in a hip tendon dating from Budapest after having “fallen badly at length”.
“We did the last test yesterday (Tuesday) at the hurdles, I didn’t have any pain, but there was a lot of apprehension. Clearly, there is no huge alert” but “it’s a little premature to do high-intensity hurdles,” he explained. “I would not have been reasonable if I had done the decathlon, it would have taken another month or two, we will give it to each other. This is the choice of reason,” Mayer continued.
“No impact on the Olympics themselves”
His last completed decathlon dates back to July 2022 at the World Championships in Eugene (Oregon, United States), scene of his second world champion title after 2017. We will have to wait to see him at work in San Diego, California, at the end March (21 to 23), to hope to see him complete another one.
“Honestly, it’s quite comfortable to say that I’m three months old. And March is very early in the season, it will have no impact on the Olympics themselves. I am quite calm with this choice” rather than “rushing into the first decathlon that arrives”, he estimated.