Frenchman Kevin Mayer withdrew from the San Diego decathlon, where he had hoped to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Desperation is great for Kevin Meyer. The French athletics headliner was forced to retire on Thursday, March 21, after just four events in the decathlon in San Diego, California, where he hoped to qualify for the Olympic Games (JO) in Paris (July 26 – August 11).
The 32-year-old athlete, apparently hampered in his right leg, failed to clear a bar during the high jump. He has until June 30 to achieve the Olympic minimum (8,460 points).
The double Olympic vice-champion in the decathlon suffered a setback four months before the Paris Games, a lifelong goal, hoping to take advantage of a small university meeting in San Diego, under the California sun.
Mayer missed out on the World Championships in Budapest in the summer of 2023 and has not completed a decathlon since winning his world title in July 2022 in Eugene (Oregon, United States). 1.89 m. “I can’t go”He whimpered after the precarious run-up, while his right thigh and right ankle were bandaged.
Meyer decided to quit after a meeting with his trainer Alexandre Bonaccorsi and the boss of the French athletics team, Romain Barras.
Decathlon world record holder
He started his day decently over the 100m, before experiencing his first alarm during the length, slightly twisting his left knee during the warm-up after losing two spikes under his shoe.
The world decathlon record holder (9,126 points in 2018), Kevin Meyer still has three months to complete the decathlon and achieve the Olympic minimum. But his quest for the Olympics suffered another setback after dropping out of the first qualifying decathlon in Australia in December 2023. Above all, this new abandonment raises questions about his physical condition, which has increased pain and injuries in recent years.
