By Steve Keating
TORONTO, July 23 (Reuters) - Decathlete Damian Warner paid
back his family and friends for their support in Pan American
Games gold on Thursday, but the price may have been steep, the
Canadian gambling with a podium finish at the world
championships.
For Warner, who grew up two hours from the Pan Am stadium,
the considerable risk was worth the reward, a Games gold on home
soil in front of his mom to hang alongside the Commonwealth
Games gold he won last year.
But it is Olympic and world championship titles that really
matter. The biggest of these will be on offer a year from now at
the Rio Summer Games, the other up for grabs next month in
Beijing.
Regarded as the ultimate athletes, decathletes generally
compete in full 10-event competitions just twice a year.
Warner will attempt to jam two major competitions on two
different continents into five weeks.
The 25-year-old did not come to the Pan Ams as a tune-up for
the worlds, targeting instead the 19-year-old national record of
8,626 points held by Michael Smith and smashing it with a
personal best score of 8,659.
"I knew I wanted the Canadian record so bad, I didn't think
there was a better place to get it than here at home," said
Warner, who competed in his first decathlon at the same York
University site.
"Before the 1,500 metres I saw my mom and my uncle and a
whole bunch of friends and I was a little emotional and I just
tried to hold it all together and I go out there and take care
of business."
The toll for competing in 10 events crammed into two
grueling days is considered one of the sport's supreme tests, so
much so that the Olympic champion is crowned with the mythical
title of world's greatest athlete.
It is a crown that many, including current Olympic champion
and world record holder Ashton Eaton of the United States,
believe Warner could achieve.
Based on results since he was unable to watch the
competition in the States, Eaton told Reuters via email there
likely "were some ups where he (Warner) probably thought 'Man
I'm on a roll' and there were some downs when he may have
thought 'Can I even get an overall PB?'
"When there were downs he responded well, either in the
next event or next attempt. When you go through all that and
keep fighting you truly have a decathlon mentality, then you
score big.
"He's ready for Worlds."
Fifth at 2012 London Olympics, in only his 10th decathlon,
bronze medal winner at 2013 worlds and 2014 Commonwealth Games
champion, Warner confirmed at the Pan Am Games his place among
the decathlon elite.
"I like to believe I'm still young, a couple of years ago I
could do four decathlons a year and only have a month in
between," said Warner. "I believe I still have some fresh legs
so I think five weeks will be plenty of time."
Like 20-year-old Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse who
thrilled the crowd with his 100m victory on Wednesday, Warner
oozes natural athleticism that must be harnessed and refined.
Decathletes must possess the explosive power of a sprinter,
the long-bursting endurance of a middle distance runner, the
power of a shot putter and the ability to glide over hurdles.
And to be a gold-medal winning decathlete you must be close
to world class in all of them.
Warner opened the competition on Wednesday by posting
personal bests in the 100 metres (10.28) and long jump (7.68m)
was eighth in the shot put (14.36m), cleared 1.97 metres in the
high jump and capped off the day by winning the 400m (47.66).
He got Day Two off to a bright start, posting a personal
best in the 110m hurdles (13.44 seconds), tossing the discus a
lifetime best 47.56m, clearing a modest 4.60m in the pole vault
and throwing the javelin 61.53m.
With the long-standing national record within his grasp,
Warner stepped to the line in the final event, the 1,500m,
needing a time of four minutes 29 seconds to topple the mark.
He did what champions do, and delivered, charging across
the line with hands raised to the roar of partisan crowd in a
personal best of 4:24.73.
"When I came to track everybody and myself knew I had to run
a fast time in the 1,500. I just tried to feed off the crowd,"
said Warner. "I wouldn't have been able to run that time without
them.
"Nothing is ever given to you. Something crazy could happen
in the last 100 metres so you just have to take it step by step
and celebrate at the end when I knew I had it in the bag."
(Editing by Gene Cherry)