Damian Warner and Pierce LePage at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (© Getty Images)
One year on from stepping on to a global podium for the first time, Canda’s Pierce LePage became world champion in the decathlon in Budapest, putting together the series of his life to win with a world-leading 8909.
The two days of action had many twists and turns, from the inspired start by Germany’s Leo Neugebauer, to the withdrawals of world record-holder Kevin Mayer and 2019 world champion Niklas Kaul, and the decathlon championship best of 54.97m by eventual bronze medallist Lindon Victor.
But by the end of the contest, it was LePage who shone brightest. He may not have been the best in any of the 10 disciplines, but he was consistently good across the board, placing in the top five in seven of the events.
Ever since breaking through to international level in 2016, LePage has gradually built on his huge promise. Commonwealth silver in 2018 was followed by Pan-American Games bronze in 2019. He finished fifth at the 2019 World Championships, his first global event, and repeated that position at the Tokyo Olympic Games before going on to earn world silver in Oregon last year.
But here in Budapest the 27-year-old established himself as the new all-round king of athletics.
He started strongly, clocking 10.45 in the 100m to rank fourth overall behind Warner (10.32), Ayden Owens-Delerme (10.43) and Manuel Eitel (10.44).
A 7.59m leap in the long jump kept LePage in fourth place overall, while a 7.77m jump kept Warner in the lead. But Neugebauer was the star of the event, sailing out to a lifetime best of 8.00m, catapulting the young German from 10th to second overall.
Neugebauer was also the top performer in the shot put, throwing a lifetime best of 17.04m to move into the lead. Warner threw 15.03m but held on to second, while LePage climbed to third after throwing 15.81m.
Defending champion and world record-holder Kevin Mayer did not start for the shot put, though, having entered the championships with a few niggling injuries.
Australia’s Olympic bronze medallist Ashley Moloney, meanwhile, threw 14.08m in the shot, but then withdrew.
The positions at the top of the leaderboard closed up slightly after the high jump with Neugebauer clearing 2.02m to Warner’s 2.05m and LePage’s 2.08m. The Canadian duo were then level on points, but LePage moved into second place after the 400m, clocking 47.21 to Warner’s 47.86.
Neugebauer was a bit slower (47.99) but it was enough to carry a 30-point lead into the second day.
Victor and Estonia’s Karel Tilga, meanwhile, were steadily making their way up the leaderboard. Victor was second best overall in the shot put (15.94m) and rounded out his first day with a 2.02m high jump and 48.05 400m, moving him to fourth overall. Tilga was also solid in the shot put (15.75m) and high jump (2.05m), putting him in medal contention.
Day two started with a near disaster for overnight leader Neugebauer. The NCAA champion clattered the first barrier in the 110m hurdles, and then clipped the next two. Somehow, he managed to stay on his feet and finish in a respectable 14.75.
But a 13.77 clocking from LePage meant the competition had a new overall leader. Warner also moved above Neugebauer, thanks to his 13.67 run – the fastest of the day.
LePage extended his lead in the discus, throwing 50.98m to Warner’s 45.82m. Victor excelled, though, throwing a decathlon championship best of 54.97m, moving from fifth to third in the standings.
Neugebauer threw a solid 47.63m, but it was some eight metres down on the mark he produced at the NCAA Championships and so nowhere near the points he’d been hoping to bank in this discipline.
US champion Harrison Williams bagged some great points in the pole vault thanks to his 5.30m clearance, moving him into fifth place. LePage was next best with 5.20m, which was better than Neugebauer (5.10m), Warner (4.90m), Victor (4.80m) and Tilga (4.80m), ensuring the Canadian stayed at the top of the heap. With two events to go, LePage’s lead was almost 200 points strong.
The javelin largely went to form. LePage produced the second-best throw of his life, 60.90m, to stay in command of the competition, but the gap closed slightly with Warner throwing 63.09m and Victor throwing 68.05m.
Tilga also threw well, 66.42m, though not quite as far as his Estonian teammate Janek Oiglane, who was the best of the bunch with 70.45m. Neugebauer managed 57.95m to slip to fourth place.
Going into the 1500m, LePage had already scored 8228 points – a respectable score for a complete decathlon. He had a 154-point lead over Victor and a 184-point lead over Warner, who was the strongest 1500m runner of the lead trio.
Barring disaster, LePage had essentially done enough to win.
As expected, Warner made up ground in the 1500m, clocking 4:27.73. But LePage’s 4:39.88 was more than enough to maintain the lead, giving him a winning tally of 8909 from Warner’s 8804. LePage's score is the second-best winning mark for the decathlon at the World Championships behind Ashton Eaton's then-world record of 9045 in 2015.
Victor, determined to win his first global medal, produced a lifetime best of 4:39.67 to earn bronze with 8756, smashing his own national record, and achieving the best mark for third place in any decathlon.
Record depth was achieved throughout the field, Tilga’s 8681 PB and Neugebauer’s 8645 being the best ever scores for fourth and fifth.
In a landmark competition for Estonian decathletes, Tilga’s teammates Oiglane (8524) and Johannes Erm (8484) also set lifetime bests.
USA’s Harrison Williams scored 8500 in seventh and Norway’s Markus Rooth was eighth with 8491, getting the upper hand over domestic rival Sander Skotheim (10th with 8263).
It was the first time that seven men have broken 8500 and nine men scored in excess of 8400 in the same competition.
“This decathlon didn’t really start the best, and that’s why I fought really hard today,” said LePage, who added more than 200 points to his PB to move to sixth on the world all-time list. “I went all in from this morning and it makes me really proud.
“I had a couple of close calls. First, when I landed in the pit during long jump, I twisted my shoulder. It was rough. Then I got cramp at 1.99m during the high jump. This morning I pulled my hamstring before the hurdles. But this is the decathlon – we are used to a lot of injuries, you get through it.
“I’ve come a long way. I’ve done so many decathlons with Damian and we’re always supporting each other, so it’s nice to share this podium with him,” added LePage, who led a Canadian 1-2 from Warner at the Hypo Meeting earlier this year. LePage now becomes the first man in 12 years to win both the Hypo Meeting and the world title in the same season.
“This medal is for my coach (Greg Portnoy),” added Warner. “He has been working in this sport for more than 40 years and he really deserves this one. He and my physio have done a lot to get me ready for this competition. We did it.”
Warner, the Olympic champion, was delighted for his younger teammate.
“If you’d have asked me prior the World Championships if I was happy to take silver, I'd probably have said no,” he said. “But if somebody goes out, scores 8900 points and beats me, I shake their hand. Pierce was really awesome and I'm very happy for him, but I'm very proud of myself, too. I wanted to get the gold, but it makes it a little bit better to have another Canadian winning it.”
Victor, who failed to finish the 2017 and 2019 World Championships decathlons before placing fifth in Oregon, was delighted to earn his first global medal.
“To bring this medal home to my country is an unbelievable feeling and I’m thirsty for more,” said the two-time Commonwealth champion. “The whole decathlon was solid – nothing really crazy and nothing really bad. I came in expecting to win a medal and I think that was the biggest difference from earlier in my career.”
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
| MEN'S DECATHLON MEDALLISTS | ||
| 🥇 | Pierce LePage 🇨🇦 CAN | 8909 WL, PB |
| 🥈 | Damian Warner 🇨🇦 CAN | 8804 SB |
| 🥉 | Lindon Victor 🇬🇩 GRN | 8756 NR |
| Full results | ||
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