You need everything to be happy: Damian Warner leaves Calgary for London, Ont.

To be the best in the world, Damian Warner believes he needs to train where he's most happy.

And so the 28-year-old decathlete is leaving his training base in Calgary and moving back home to London, Ont., to train with Gar Leyshon, the high school coach who first introduced him to track and field.

“I made the decision a month ago officially, but I've been thinking about it for a little while, and during that time I was talking to Gar and people in my family about some of my thoughts, and ultimately I decided I think it's going to be the best decision,” Warner said. “Calgary had its advantages and disadvantages, but I think ultimately it comes down to being around family and friends.”

Warner moved to Calgary to train with multi-events coach Les Gramantik he was the longtime coach of former decathlon star Michael Smith - a couple of months after his bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He had success in Calgary, smashing his own Canadian record in the decathlon in May. But something was missing. Warner missed both his family and the team of coaches in London he said had virtually become family: Leyshon, Vicki Croley, Dave Collins, Dennis Nielsen and physio Dave Zelibka.

“That's one of the things that Gar has talked about a lot, buying in 100 per cent, and to me that means you have to be happy, you have to enjoy what you're doing,” said Warner, who was named summer male athlete of the year at the 41st Canadian Sports Awards on Thursday night in Ottawa.

“That's not to say I lost joy at any point, I love the decathlon, but you need everything to be happy.”