On Wednesday, reigning world decathlon champion Pierce LePage introduced that he won’t compete on the Paris Olympics on account of harm. LePage sustained a herniated disc in coaching in late April and hasn’t recovered in time to compete for Canada on the Paris Olympic Video games.
LePage made the announcement on his Instagram: “I believed I used to be going to be positive. The previous couple of months have been draining–it’s robust to see your goals slip away out of your palms. It doesn’t matter what I did, it saved getting worse, and it acquired to some extent the place, you already know, you possibly can’t do it. We hit that time within the final week.”
Heading into the season, the 28-year-old from Whitby, Ont., was one of many favourites to achieve the rostrum within the males’s decathlon occasion alongside fellow Canadian Damian Warner, however he suffered his coaching harm simply weeks earlier than the Gotzis Hypo-meeting in Austria, which induced him to withdraw.
“I’ve pushed via harm earlier than, and till the final week or so, I believed I might,” stated LePage. “I can’t power my again to begin working, regardless of how arduous I strive. There’s no level in going to the Olympics, solely scoring 7,000 factors and hurting myself.”
In June, LePage obtained a medical exemption from Athletics Canada to overlook the Canadian Olympic Trials and nonetheless acquire Staff Canada choice. He examined his harm two weeks in the past at a small observe meet in Toronto, competing within the 100m and pole vault, and revealed his pole snapped throughout his warm-up, making issues worse.
“The toughest factor about not going is realizing I let folks down who’ve supported me,” stated LePage. “Paris was the primary time my household was going to return see me compete.”
LePage stated he’ll bear again surgical procedure and these subsequent three weeks might be instrumental in his restoration to defend his world championship title in Tokyo subsequent 12 months.
