While Kevin Mayer will gently open its season in Montpellier this weekend, the one who preceded him on the Olympic podium in the decathlon in Tokyo will be in Götzis (Austria), a mecca for combined events. Canadian Olympic champion Damian Warner will aim for an 8th victory there, for his first decathlon since his retirement during that of the Eugene Worlds in 2022 (hamstrings) when he was in the lead after four events.
Now without a contract for his shoes, which he buys himself, Warner will have to be wary in Götzis of his compatriot Pierce LePage, 2nd in Eugene behind Kevin Mayer, or the Swiss Simon Ehammer, vice-champion of Europe 2022 in the decathlon and bronze medal at the Eugene Worlds a few weeks earlier, but at length. Other notable entries: the Grenadian Lindon Victor, 5th in Eugene, or the Australian Ashley Moloney. On the French side, Makenson Gletty will try to beat his personal best (8,141 points), established in Talence in 2022.
A Vetter-Hall match in the heptathlon?
Victorious last year in Götzis, the Dutch Olympic vice-champion in the heptathlon Anouk Vetter is back in Austria and will have to deal with strong competition. We think of the American Anna Hall (3rd in Eugene last year), the Briton Katarina Johnson-Thompson (2019 world champion) and the Polish Adrianna Sulek.