Whitby’s Pierce LePage wins silver medal in Decathlon

Pierce Le Page has won a silver medal in the Decathlon, Canada’s fourth medal in the World Athletics Championships, which concluded Sunday in Eugene, Oregon.

When reigning Olympic gold medalists Damian Warner went down with a hamstring injury on the last event of Day One of the Decathlon, there were plenty of hands wrung and brows fretted that Canada’s chance at a medal in the event went down with him.

No worries said LePage, the pride of Whitby. Anyone who has watched his progress in the decathlon, which unofficially crowns the world’s greatest athlete, would agree.

Third after the first day, LePage reeled off three consecutive personal best performances to kick off Sunday – capped off by a discus throw of 53.26 metres that was two metres farther than his personal best – to move into the gold medal position.

Despite excellent performances in the pole vault and javelin, France’s Kevin Mayer, the world record holder, two-time Olympic silver medalist and now two-time World champion, passed LePage with a brilliant throw in the javelin and held on in an anti-climactic 1,500 metres to win the gold.

LePage, who recorded a personal best score of 8,701, held off American Zachary Ziemek in the 1,500 to claim silver. Ziemek earned the bronze.

LePage has a silver medal from the 2018 Commonwealth Games and a bronze from the 2019 Pan American Games but this is his first medal at a global competition.

LePage was fifth in Tokyo.

MEN’S DECATHLON – LEPAGE WINS WORLD SILVER🇨🇦🥈

Finishes with 8701 points, obliterating his old PB of 8604.

Disaster may have struck for Warner, but we have a Canadian on the podium.

A darn good one. pic.twitter.com/abnYwDUbks

— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) July 25, 2022

SILVER SMILE

“Finally”

An exhausted Pierce LePage so proud here in the media interview area. He’s been close before. Now on the podium at worlds. pic.twitter.com/xiOD7OZ21X

— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) July 25, 2022