Warner breaks Canadian record
Hypo Meeting gold eases disappointment over Commonwealth Games
Damian Warner shattered his Canadian decathlon record in winning his fourth Hypo Meeting title on Sunday, helping erase the disappointment of a roller-coaster year.
The 28-year-old from London, Ont., scored 8,795 points to win the storied multi-event meet in Gotzis, Austria, topping his previous mark of 8,695 set at the 2015 world championships in Beijing. Warner’s performance on Sunday was also the best score in the world this season.
“It means a lot,” Warner told reporters after the1,500, the decathlon’s final event. “Coming into this decathlon was one of the harder preparations that I’ve had. I’ve been battling ankle problems and a couple of days ago I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to start. I owe a lot of thanks to the people on my team.”
Estonia’s Maicel Uibo was second (8,514), while Pieter Braun of the Netherlands was third (8,342).
Warner’s record and victory comes fewer than two months after he dropped out of the decathlon at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Warner’s bid to defend his Commonwealth title crumbled after he failed to clear a height in the pole vault at Carrara Stadium.
First after seven events in Australia, Warner plummeted to sixth and — his medal chances shot — pulled out of the competition. “The disappointment was huge, but just like any athlete at this calibre, they put these things behind them and learn from it,” said his coach Les Gramantik.
Warner, who left London, Ont., last year to move to Calgary to train with Gramantik, won the 110 hurdles in 13.56 to open day one, then threw 47.32 metres in discus, had no trouble with pole vault in clearing 4.80 metres, then threw 61.94 metres in javelin. Warner needed to run just four minutes 42 seconds in the 1,500 to break his Canadian record, and left nothing to chance running 4:26.59.