It will undoubtedly take time, a lot of time for Kévin Mayer to know how to appreciate this silver medal from Tokyo.
He, who had come to Japan only to win the gold which was missing from his formidable record, must be satisfied with the same performance as in Rio.
Except that in the city of Carioca, he had come across an Ashton Eaton at the top of the discipline, when he himself was only 24 years old.
"I was simply not ready at the time," he told us before flying to the Japanese capital.
But in five years, the decathlete has taken on a whole new dimension, between a world title in 2017 and, above all, an exceptional world record of 9,126 points at Talence on September 16, 2018.
To discover
The full Olympic program
The Olympic medal table
Unfortunately, since this historic performance, Mayer has, as he analyzes it himself, “paid the price for this record”. Or rather his body settled the bill, with a multitude of physical glitches, more or less serious, which led in particular to the sad episode of Doha, during the Worlds of 2019, where he had to give up during the test of the perch. The same one that relaunched it in Tokyo. Back blocked Wednesday, the French had not found the fullness of his means by magic. But this Wednesday, he found resources, physical and mental, unsuspected to go for this title of Olympic vice-champion which will not make him happy, obviously. Nevertheless, against bad luck, Mayer should, over time, manage to make a good heart and overcome his frustration. After all, in Paris, in 2024, he will be 32 years old.An advanced age in decathlon, but not prohibitive ...
This Thursday, to move up two places in the standings, Mayer was able to rely first at the end of the morning on the pole, where he crossed 5.20m, much better than his rivals. In addition, avoiding the pangs of a zero which would have ruined his last hopes for the podium. Before his evening masterpiece, during the javelin throw. After a correct first throw at 64.71m, the French dug deep inside to send his lance to the moon, or almost. At 73.09m. His personal best in his career. Magic. In one event, he had just passed his two rivals, the Australian Ashley Moloney and the Canadian Pierce Lepage. For gold, the other Canadian, Damien Warner, was inaccessible. Moreover, Mayer did not even try a stroke of poker during the final 1,500m, preferring quite logically to secure his 2nd place with 8.726 points (against 9,018 points for his predecessor, with his total of 9,018 points, new Olympic record, Ashley Moloney completing the podium). But after hitting rock bottom the night before and shedding tears of frustration, Mayer got the reaction he expected. That of a huge champion with silver disappointment. Back Wednesday, Kevin Mayer straightened the bar on the second day of the decathlon. He completed his 1500m in 4'43 "17 and gleaned a new silver medal, as in 2016.Back Wednesday, Kevin Mayer straightened the bar on the second day of the decathlon. He completed his 1500m in 4'43 "17 and gleaned a new silver medal, as in 2016.Back Wednesday, Kevin Mayer straightened the bar on the second day of the decathlon. He completed his 1500m in 4'43 "17 and gleaned a new silver medal, as in 2016.
