Kevin Mayer, the French decathlon specialist, is still uncertain about when and where he will compete in his next decathlon in order to achieve the Olympic minimum score of 8,460 points for Paris. However, another French specialist in combined events made headlines last weekend. Makenson Gletty, 24 years old and the French champion in July in Albi with 8,279 points, won the Decastar in Talence and set a new personal record of 8,443 points.
Gletty achieved four personal records in ten events in Gironde, including a 16.46m shot put, a 48.38s 400m, a 5.07m pole vault, and a 4’27”46 1,500m race. These performances placed him just 17 points shy of the Olympic minimum score.
Gletty expressed mixed feelings about his performance, stating, “I am very happy with the victory and overall performance, but I also feel a bit bitter about coming so close to the minimum score. However, I know where I lost points. I need to improve in discus (41.67m) and javelin (59.77m), and I faced strong headwinds during the hurdles (14.01s, -1.6m/s). These 8,443 points are almost what I expected, considering the intense and mentally exhausting two months of preparation. But I wanted it so badly.”
After winning the national title in Albi with 8,279 points, Gletty hoped to compete in the World Championships in Budapest a few weeks later. However, due to World Athletics’ regulations, he fell short of the required ranking points and missed the qualification. Reflecting on this, he said, “At first, it was hard to accept. I believed I had earned a spot in the World Championships, and it was frustrating to see athletes with lower performances qualify. But I moved on and bounced back.”
Although Gletty is not officially guaranteed a spot in next year’s stadium in France, his ranking points from the Decastar, a highly regarded event for World Athletics, put him in a very good position. “I am confident for next year,” said Gletty, who was born in Haiti and arrived in France at the age of seven. “I am on track, but nothing is certain, and I won’t stop here. I am not the type to perform once and stop. I am very active and love competition.”
In 2023, Gletty competed in three decathlons, including Götzis in May (8,211 points), Albi, and the Decastar. Impressi
