Paris: Decathlon world championn Pierce LePage of Canada will miss the upcoming Paris Olympics for injury reasons. LePage made the announcement in an Instagram video late Wednesday, saying he would undergo a operation on a slipped disc he suffered in April and that has not allowed him to train and perform at top level. He also said he hurt his hand and shoulder in pole vault training recently, and came to the conclusion he could perform nowhere near the 8,909 points he scored for the world title last year in Budapest. "It was either go to the Olympics, score 7,000 points if that, or hurt myself and risk future long-lasting damage,” he said.
"My mind wants to be there but every part of my body said not. "The last couple of months have been draining, to say the least. It’s really tough to see your dream kinda slip away from your hands, even though you’re trying as hard as you can for that not to happen.” In his absence, countryman and 2021 gold medallist Damian Warner is among the top favourites for the Olympic competition August 2 and 3, along with German Leo Neugebauer who leads the 2024 list with 8,961 points. LePage said he would meanwhile start training after the operation for the next worlds 2025 in Tokyo where "I want to defend my title.” (DPA)