French athletics headliner Kevin Mayer’s participation in Paris 2024 is still uncertain. Mayer withdrew from the decathlon in San Diego on Thursday after four events, where he hoped to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris. The 32-year-old Mayer appeared to be struggling with his right leg and failed to clear a height in the high jump. He still has until June 30th to achieve the Olympic qualifying standards of 8,460 points.
The two-time Olympic decathlon silver medalist faces a setback just four months before the home Games, the lifelong dream he was aiming for. Mayer had previously withdrawn from the Budapest World Championships last summer and has not completed a decathlon since winning the world title in Eugene, Oregon in July 2022.
Mayer made the decision to start his competition at a height of 1.89m but ended up aborting two jumps before giving up. “I can’t do it,” he sighed after an uncertain run-up, while being bandaged on his right thigh and right ankle. Mayer finally decided to withdraw after a discussion with his coach Alexandre Bonacorsi and French athletics team leader Romain Barras.
His physical condition raises questions. He started off decently in the 100m but experienced a slight knee injury during the long jump warm-up due to missing two spikes on his shoes. As the world record holder in the decathlon with 9,126 points in 2018, Kevin Mayer still has three months to complete a decathlon and achieve the Olympic qualifying standards.
However, his Olympic journey faces another setback after withdrawing from a qualifying decathlon in Australia last December. This new withdrawal especially raises concerns about his physical state, as he has been plagued by various pains and injuries in recent years.
