Twice Olympic decathlon vice-champion Kevin Mayer saw his dreams of gold this summer seriously compromised on July 7. During the Paris meeting, the Frenchman injured his left hamstring. Bad luck for the athlete, who is trying his hardest to recover in time.
3 min
These are difficult images to see. Kevin Mayer was in the middle of the 110m hurdles, one of the ten events in the decathlon, on Sunday, July 7. Everything was going well after seven hurdles. The Frenchman was leading the race. And then, before jumping the eighth hurdle, a grimace. A clumsy jump to clear the obstacle. And the fall, accompanied by a cry of distress. On the ground, Kevin Mayer held his head in his hands, torn between the pain of the injury and the realization that the JO 2024 may have flown away.
The decathlete finally got up and left the track, walking cautiously, his face marked by the stroke of fate. The next day, the medical verdict came in: a significant injury to his left hamstring. And this three and a half weeks before the start of the athletics events at the Paris Games. The decathlon will begin on August 2.
On July 9, Kevin Mayer took to social media, confiding that he was ” very hard to find the words ” so much ” everything seems unreal since this fall “For him, the road leading to the Stade de France, the venue for the athletics events at the Games, ” seems much longer “A muscle injury often requires several weeks of treatment and downtime. But ” Count on me to use every minute that separates us from the decathlon to increase my chances of participating. “, he promised. Romain Barras, president of the French Athletics Federation, recalls that there was ” enormous progress in medical care around injury ” and that there is ” Maybe a one in a million chance, but if it exists, we have to hold on to it “.
Three weeks to get back on your feet
The decathlon world record holder (9,126 points on September 15 and 16, 2018) is therefore immersed in a new objective: to be restored for the Games. I don’t spend a single second doing nothing. (…) I spend my life in a hyperbaric chamber, and when I’m not there, I do electrostimulation day and night so that it heals. »
Kevin Mayer gives it his all, but he’s not kidding himself either. Given the seriousness of the injury, it’s going to be very, very, very difficult. ” he concedes. ” But I can’t spend my time wondering whether it’s going to work or not. (…) I feel strong and determined to get there knowing that there’s practically no chance. It’s a strange emotion ” he continues.
The 32-year-old athlete will take stock with his medical staff regarding his participation or withdrawal from the Olympic decathlon. If he were to withdraw, it would unfortunately not be the first time that his body has betrayed him during a major event. World champion in 2017, Kevin Mayer had to abandon the decathlon during the 2019 World Championships due to an injured Achilles tendon. In 2021, during the Tokyo Games, a back injury handicapped him, but he had found the resources to go for the silver medalas in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. And during the 2022 European Championships and the World Championships 2023his competitions ended prematurely due to injuries to the adductor and Achilles tendon.
For Kevin Mayer, the quest for an Olympic gold medal at home, still unprecedented for French athletics, involves a first and bitter battle against injury. Answer in three weeks.
(and with AFP)