Kevin Mayer is the European indoor heptathlon champion but he suffered to win his third title in this competition on Sunday March 5 in Istanbul. He withstood the comeback of 20-year-old Norwegian hopeful Sander Skotheim, who threatened him all the way in the 1000m final.
The decathlon world champion ends his two days with 6,348 points, 30 points ahead of the Scandinavian. Estonian Risto Lillemets wins the bronze medal. In the 800 meters, Frenchman Benjamin Robert won a silver medal like the tricolor men's 4X400 meter relay a little earlier. Azeddine Habz had pocketed the first medal of the French clan with bronze in the 1,500 meters on Friday. The same metal as Agnès Raharolahy on the 800 meters.
Since his fantastic duel with American legend Ashton Eaton in the Rio Olympics decathlon in 2016 and his world title in London the following year, Kevin Mayer has not been a quiet champion. With the exception of his world record in 2018, the French decathlete suffers and fights against his opponents but especially against himself. Whether it's the harshness of "those ten burdens" of Hercules or his body that keeps complaining about the intensive treatment he inflicts on it.
Nothing is given to him easily. The reminder of the course of his last major championships for five years is evocative, whether he fails or he succeeds: three bitten tries in the long jump at the European Championships in Berlin, a retirement because of a painful thigh during from the 2019 Worlds in Doha, an Olympic decathlon completed "in silver" in Tokyo with a blocked back and a world title conquered last summer in Eugene with again pain in the Achilles tendon.
a bad night
In Istanbul, Kevin Mayer tried his hand at the heptathlon (a title he has already won twice in 2017 and 2021). A discipline that is a reduced model and adapted to the indoor decathlon: 60 m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60 m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 m. And his first day, Saturday, was not easy, despite the disqualification of his main rival, the Swiss Simon Ehammer, bronze medalist in the decathlon of the Eugene Worlds, who bit his three attempts at length.
After a failed high jump contest (1.98m), Mayer complained that he had had a bad night: “My impulses were not pleasant. I almost didn't make it to 1.98m. I'm a little disgusted because yesterday I was in huge shape. I tore my hair out last night not sleeping. I'm far from what I hoped to do but there is still a title to get, so I'm doing the job. Hopefully a good night will make tomorrow a bit better. »
After four out of seven events, "Kéké la braise" was only in 2nd place with 3,474 points, trailing Norwegian combined events hopeful Sander Skotheim (3,541 points) by 67 points.
La menace de Sander Skotheim
Sunday, after, we hope, a better night's sleep, Kevin Mayer took over the reins of the heptathlon, thanks to two of his strong points, but without managing to widen the gap on the fiery Nordic. He ran his 60m hurdles in 7.76 seconds before clearing a bar of 5.30 meters, failing at 5.40 meters. Achieving this height would have given him enough headroom before tackling the final event of the weekend. Instead, the French champion was "only" 101 points ahead before the 1,000 meters.
And the middle-distance distance is one of the specialties of the Norwegian. His record dates from this winter with a time of 2 minutes 37 seconds and 82 hundredths. In his last heptathlon two years ago, Mayer ran the distance in 2 minutes 45 seconds and 72 hundredths (personal best 2 minutes 41 seconds and 8 hundredths in 2017).
"I didn't prepare for the 1,000 meters, I didn't do a single session," admitted the Frenchman. The situation in which I did not want to find myself, I find myself there. I'm 101 points ahead? Ok that's not bad, it's been about 8 seconds. »
Kevin Mayer predicted the time he would have to set to win: “Without preparation, I can go for 2 minutes 44 seconds. That's what he did, within 20 hundredths (2 minutes 44'20"), conceding only seven seconds to the Norwegian. Enough to maintain 30 margin points.
