by Larry EderWatch Kevin Mayer, the decathlon world record holder this weekend.
Kevin Mayer is a global star in the decathlon, With 13 starts, Kevin has completed 12, and won six. Among his completions, 4th in Moscow 2013 with a score of 8,446 points. In 2014, Kevin Mayer took the silver at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, with a total of 8,521 points.
In 2015, Kevin Mayer continued to impress with his meet record at the Arona Combined Events Meeting, with a win in 8,469 points.
2016 was huge, as the French decathlete took second in Gotzis, Austria at the Hypo-Meeting, with a point total at 8,446. In August, Kevin Mayer showed his fitness with an Olympic silver medal, and a National record with his magniscent 8,834 points.
Kevin Mayer, photo: PInterest
World decathlon record holder Kevin Mayer is among the big names looking for the @Tokyo2020 qualification mark during the @WorldAthletics Challenge Combined Events meeting in Reunion https://t.co/Z1FMGHYYMx #athletics #Tokyo2020 #Olympics
— insidethegames (@insidethegames) December 18, 2020
In 2017, Kevin Mayer took gold in the World Athletics Championships, in London, England. A good score, 8,768 points, his 2nd best ever showed the decathlon world that the “World’s Greatest Athlete” was french.
Kevn Mayer put himself in the history books, with his visit to Gotzis in 2018. At the Hypo meeting, Kevin added his name to the world record books with his excellent decathlon total, 9,126 points.
In 2019, Kevin Mayer fell back to earth, at the Doha 2019 WC, where an injuy took him out at the pole vault, event 8 in the 10 events that are the decathlon. That was his only decathlon DNF, so he does not have an Olympic qualifier, unlike his competition. As the Olympic window opened again on Dec 1, 2020, Mayer wanted to waste little time.
Kevin Mayer, photo: World Athletics
The decathlon consists of ten events over 2 days: 100m, LJ, Shot Put, HJ, 400m on day 1. On day 2, 110m Hurdles, Discus, Pole vault, Javelin, and the 1,500m! One gets 3 chances in each field event, and one attempt in each running event.
Bob Mathias, the 1948 and 1952 gold medalist in the decathlon told this writer that there are ten events to mess up in the decathlon, and the idea, is to keep the screw ups to a minimum. Kevin Mayer embraces that. Decathlon coach Harry Marra, coach o Ashton Eaton, took out the hyperbola: “You have ten chances to mess up a decathlon.”
And now, in 2020, Kevin Mayer is in good shape, and has recovered from the injury that hurt him in Doha. This weekend, Kevin Mayer wants an Olympic qualiier, at 8,350 points or better.
We wish him and his compatriots in the decathlon and heptathlon best wishes!
In the heptathlon, Ukraine’s 2013 world champion Hanna Kasyanova, in her second heptathlon since giving birth, will lead the ield in La Reunion this weekend.
