While he hoped to take advantage of the decathlon organized in San Diego to get his ticket to the Olympic Games, the world record holder was forced to give up, casting a veil over his presence in Paris.
After a sluggish 100m and a complicated long jump competition, with only one validated jump, and a successful weight competition, thanks to a throw at 16m10, Kevin Mayer’s decathlon in San Diego stopped in the fourth event, high jump. Hampered by pain in his right leg, which appeared during the warm-up for the length, the double world champion was unable to pass the slightest bar.
After a brief exchange with his coach Alexandre Bonacorsi and the boss of the French athletics team Romain Barras, Kevin Mayer had to resolve to give up and postpone the quest for his qualification for the Olympic Games. One more time. Forced to withdraw from the world championships in Budapest last summer, the French decathlete had already had to abandon the decathlon in Brisbane at the start of the year due to a hip injury.
“I’m not worried about qualifying”
The challenge is simple for Kevin Mayer. Obtain 8450 points – a logical formality for the Frenchman – before June 30, the deadline. Enough to give him several opportunities like the very famous Götzis decathlon in Austria on May 18 and 19 or that of the French championships. But at 32, his body is sending worrying signals to say the least. The person concerned nevertheless appeared optimistic after his abandonment. “I’m not worried about qualifying. It’s the decathlon, we’re all ‘broken’ (injured)”, he whispered in comments relayed by RMC.
“I have become my own coach, my own physical trainer, I am a bit of my own mental trainer too, I have to learn to be more lenient with myself, otherwise it will kill me, he continued. I can totally see myself in a packed Stade de France on D-Day, don’t worry. »
“After three days, I felt so good that I did sprints and lengths. I had a bad fall and I felt a little discomfort,” he explained about his adductor magnus injury, adding: “I’m happy to have done 100 m, length, weight, it’s always preparation, more confidence for the decathlon afterwards. If I want to be in agreement with myself, I have to stop wanting to be in a hurry to do the minimums and trust myself. »
