As of Wednesday afternoon, Canada is still in pursuit of its first men’s gold medal in this year’s Olympics. The women’s side has delivered in a big way, with Crista Deguchi and Summer McIntosh already earning the top prizes in their respective sports, while Tammara Thibeault is favoured to bring home at least one more. The men need an icebreaker, however, and who could be better than someone who’s already done it for the country before?
The nation’s eyes shift to Damian Warner, who will compete in the men’s decathlon on Friday and Saturday.
The 34-year-old electrified the nation in 2021 as he not only brought home gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (played in 2021) but smashed an Olympic Games record for the highest score and set the fourth-highest score in decathlon history that still hasn’t been matched. Warner’s journey of excellence started long before Tokyo, though, medalling at the World Championships in 2013, 2015, and 2019, and since his victory, once more in 2023.
Currently, the 34-year-old Warner, who is proving that age is just a number, is the second-highest-ranked decathlete in the world, trailing only fellow Canadian Pierce LePage, who was the one that finished just ahead of him at the 2023 worlds. Unfortunately, Canada’s dreams of a double threat were cut short two weeks ago. LePage confirmed that he wasn’t far enough into his recovery from herniated disc surgery to get back onto the track.
Warner’s biggest strength is his sprints. He has the fastest-ever times by a decathlete in the 100-metre dash and 110-metre hurdles, with results that would be elite if he were a singularly focused athlete. He’s also the former record holder for the long jump.
| Athlete | bet365 | Northstar | Athlete | bet365 | Northstar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo Neugebauer (GER) | -138 | -155 | Johannes Erm (EST) | +1600 | +1600 |
| Damian Warner (CAN) | +275 | +350 | Lindon Victor (GRN) | +1800 | +3300 |
| Kevin Mayer (FRA) | +750 | +750 | Sander Skotheim (NOR) | +1800 | +1800 |
| Ayen Owens-Delerme (PUR) | +1200 | +1000 | Markus Rooth (NOR) | +2500 | +2200 |
Warner will face stiff competition from the favourite to win the event, Leo Neugebauer of Germany. Neugebauer, 24, has been a dominant force in the NCAA circuit, twice breaking the records for the highest-ever decathlon score by a collegiate athlete and setting the sixth-highest score in men’s decathlon history just two months ago. Coincidentally, his score of 8,961 was the highest recorded since Warner’s 9,018 in Tokyo.
Given the nature of the event, Warner will have a very busy schedule this weekend. On Friday, he’ll run the 100m at 4:21 a.m. ET in the third heat. At 4:55 a.m., he’ll be in Group B for the long jump. At 6:15 a.m., he’ll participate in the shot put, followed by the high jump at noon. Finally, at 3:06 p.m., he’ll be in the third heat of the 400m dash.
On Saturday, he’ll participate in the 110m hurdles, the discus throw, the pole vault, the javelin throw, and the 1500m run, hopefully wrapping up his journey with another medal at 3:45 p.m. It’s tiring to think about those events, let alone participate in all 10 of them, so we’ll be wishing Damian our best from a distance!
