Decathlon world champion LePage grateful for support after injury, confident in Warner's ability to repeat
Olympic champion Warner ranked 2nd in world behind LePage, who withdrew in July
Pierce LePage felt anxious hitting send on an Instagram post that told the world the very thing he spent months working so hard to avoid: that a serious back injury would keep the world champion decathlete from competing in the Paris Olympics.
"It's really tough to see your dream kind of slip away from your hands, even though you're trying as hard as you can for that not to happen," LePage said in the video he posted on July 17. His mind wanted to be in Paris, LePage explained, but his body was saying no.
Sharing that video with the world meant accepting it was really happening, something LePage didn't want to do.
The 28-year-old from Whitby, Ont., was taken aback by what happened after he posted the video.
"When I put it out, I was super surprised by just the amount of support and love I got from everyone," LePage said in an interview with CBC Sports.
"It was super overwhelming and I'm not even sure if I've gotten to every message I've gotten, but it definitely makes me feel like I'm not going through this alone."
That's left reigning Olympic gold medallist Damian Warner, who is ranked second in the world behind LePage, as the front-runner heading into the Olympic decathlon, which begins Friday at 4:05 a.m. with the 100 metres. The decathlon wraps up with the final event, the 1,500 metres, on Saturday at 3:45 p.m.
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'My full focus on trying to make it better'
LePage, who finished first at the world championships last year in Budapest, suffered an L5-S1 disc herniation in April. Back then, the prognosis looked good that he would be ready for the Olympics.
He has pushed and competed through injuries before, including a torn patellar tendon suffered in his left knee at the world championship in 2022.
But this injury was "a different beast," and it wasn't until about a week before he posted the video that LePage realized he couldn't make his back work, no matter how hard he tried.
A grueling four months of work to rehabilitate his body taught LePage about his own resilience.
Every day he'd wake up in pain and drive to the track, train and push through, all while trying to rehab the injury.
"It was just my full focus on trying to make it better," LePage told CBC Sports. "It honestly surprised me how locked in I was in terms of training and nutrition and things like that. And it sucks it didn't work out.
LePage will have back surgery early next month. The goal is to be back to defend his world title at the world championship in Tokyo, Japan in September 2025.
For now, LePage is focused on trying to get better. He's working on strengthening his core ahead of surgery, and making sure he takes care of his mental health, too.
"It's just more what can I do to not be in pain and to be able to train again," he said.
Warner set Olympic record in 2021
Decathletes must accomplish what may be the greatest feat in sports, competing in 10 different track and field disciplines over a two-day event. It requires strength and speed but also endurance and mental fortitude.
Most athletes give it their all in one discipline, whether that's sprinting, pole vaulting or long jump.
Decathletes earn points for their performance in each discipline, and whoever has the best score at the end is the winner.
Warner took home a bronze medal in Rio in 2016 before leading from the start to the end in Tokyo, winning gold with a score of 9,018.
Only four men have surpassed a score of 9,000, and Warner was the first to do it on the Olympic stage. He was named Canada's flagbearer at the closing ceremony.
Warner also won his eighth title at the Hypo Meeting in Götzis earlier this year. He finished second behind LePage at worlds last year. Paris will be Warner's fourth Olympics.
"He's just a game-time athlete," LePage said of Warner. "He goes to the big championships and he performs every time, and I feel like that's really hard for some athletes in individual and combined events.
"But Damian, he always manages to perform his best when it matters the most."
CBC Sports analyst Michael Smith, who has competed in decathlon at the Olympics for Canada, also has hopes for Warner repeating as Olympic champion.
"They're very good because Damian, of all the competitors, he's by far the most seasoned and experienced," Smith said. "And some would put his age as a bit of a deficit but I would chalk it up to an asset."
WATCH | Warner reflects on his family's support:
LePage sees Warner's biggest competition as Leo Neugebauer. The 24-year-old German won a second NCAA decathlon title this year with the University of Texas and is ranked third in the world.
"He's super talented, super good, just if he can put it together at his first Olympics," LePage said about Neugebauer.
"It's hard to do, and I have full faith Damian's going to put it together. So it's going to be probably those two for top two."
The key for Warner in battling a "hungry" Neugebauer is to get off to a fast start in two of his best events, the 100 metres and the long jump, Smith said. Warner got an early lead in Tokyo by running 10.12 seconds in the 100 metres, and he never relinquished it.
"Once the gun goes off for that 100 metres, then the competition begins and Damian gets to apply pressure to the rest of the field by running a fast 100 metres," he said. "Everyone else will be behind him but by how much is the biggest question."
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