Damian Warner turns the page on Paris and gets ready to chase an 'elusive' world title

Justin Piercy · CBC Sports

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 11:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The past clip astir sports fans saw Damian Warner, the Canadian decathlete was describing however his worst nightmare had travel existent astatine the Paris Olympic Games.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion was sitting successful 2nd spot aft six events but fell retired of contention erstwhile helium failed to wide the barroom connected each his 3 attempts successful the rod vault.

Eight months aft withdrawing from that competition, Warner says he's turned the leafage connected Paris, but hasn't forgotten its lessons.

"I consciousness similar 1 of the important things astir being a way jock is having a abbreviated word memory," Warner said successful a caller interrogation earlier his summertime play begins. "When you person failures oregon things don't spell your way, you person to beryllium capable to stew successful that infinitesimal and conscionable benignant of beryllium upset astatine yourself and benignant of gully arsenic overmuch arsenic you tin from that show to beryllium better."

But if helium wanted to proceed to beryllium astatine the apical of his sport, Warner says helium needed to fto it go.

"So, I've moved on. I've tried to larn arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin from that situation, and present we person a caller play up with a caller goal, and that's what I'm looking guardant to."

That caller play has 2 cardinal decathlons circled, starting with the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis, Austria, connected May 31. Warner volition past crook his attention toward September's satellite championships successful Tokyo.

WATCH | Emotional Damian Warner speaks aft pulling retired of the Olympics:

Helping him enactment Paris 2024 successful the rearview reflector was a caller summation to his household not agelong aft returning from the Summer Games. Warner and his partner, Jen Cotten, welcomed girl Olivia into the world, joining large member Theo, who's present four-years-old.

"You could beryllium each upset astir the competition, and you travel location and you person the astir beauteous happening that you've ever seen, right? And past from there, you conscionable benignant of [find that] beingness takes implicit and you determination on," Warner said.

"And Paris isn't thing that crosses your caput connected a day-to-day basis. It's cleaning up toys and playing with Lego and trying not to measurement connected Lego and each that brainsick stuff."

Training camps and competitions tin instrumentality Warner distant from location and his household for weeks astatine a time. He says it's intolerable to beryllium the world's champion dada portion besides being the world's champion decathlete, but his fig 1 precedence is clear.

"You spell to the way and you benignant of exhaust yourself, and past you travel location and kids privation to leap and ascent each implicit you. But I effort to marque definite I person the vigor due to the fact that that's the precedence of my beingness – my kids. And way comes 2nd aft that," helium said.

"Right now, I've struck a bully balance. I person truly bully radical successful my beingness wherever I'm capable to beryllium the champion jock that I could beryllium connected the track, but besides astatine the aforesaid clip beryllium a truly bully dad."

Warner's mentation for this play is already underway, though it's already taken him to warmer climes than his location basal successful London, Ont. He conscionable returned from a grooming campy successful San Diego with Athletics Canada, wherever helium saw improvements successful each show compared to his Paris results.

"So astatine this constituent of the season, I'm successful truly bully shape, [it's] conscionable a substance of staying healthy, staying connected track. And past I deliberation we'll beryllium successful truly bully signifier erstwhile it comes clip to vie [at the satellite championships]."

That contention successful Tokyo successful September is what each of this year's grooming and mentation volition beryllium gathering toward for Warner. World title golden is the 1 prize that has truthful acold eluded him implicit an awesome 15-year vocation successful decathlon. A four-time medallist astatine worlds, Warner astir precocious won metallic astatine the 2023 edition, down chap Canadian Pierce LePage.

While Warner isn't putting immoderate peculiar accent connected winning this year's event, he's conscious of its importance.

"I benignant of conscionable look astatine it arsenic different mean competition," helium says. "As a decathlete, I lone get to vie successful my lawsuit possibly 2 to 3 times, max, per year. So each azygous contention that I bash means a lot. When I spell into this competition, I conscionable privation to beryllium astatine my champion and fto the cards autumn wherever they may.

"The satellite championships evidently has a small spot much weight, due to the fact that it's the 1 happening that's benignant of been elusive successful my career. But astatine the aforesaid time, I consciousness similar I person each the tools successful my toolbelt to beryllium capable to execute that. It's conscionable a substance of doing it connected those 2 days of competition."

But earlier Warner heads to Tokyo, he'll beryllium successful Austria looking for his record-extending ninth Hypo-Meeting title.

"I've conscionable had an astonishing clip each azygous clip that I've gone [to Götzis], and it's 1 of those things wherever I'm going to bash that lawsuit each azygous twelvemonth that I can, for the remainder of my career," Warner says.

Now that he's 35, Warner has admitted that he's person to the extremity than the opening of his career. He plans to measure however agelong helium wants to support competing connected a year-by-year basis, a determination helium came to acknowledgment to a small proposal from 1 of his sports heroes.

"I retrieve having a speech with Vince Carter, who was 1 of my idols, a agelong clip ago. I asked him 'when bash you deliberation you're going to bent it up?' And helium told maine 'when I'm not enjoying it anymore.' 

"I deliberation that I've taken that aforesaid philosophy. I inactive emotion the sport. I'm inactive consenting to put each the clip and the vigor and the hard enactment that is required to execute well. At the aforesaid time, that infinitesimal wherever I'm having to 2nd conjecture going to the way and I'm not rather enjoying it anymore, that's when I'm going to bent it up.

"But that infinitesimal is not close now."

WATCH | Warner eyeing elusive satellite championships rubric successful Tokyo:

What keeps Warner coming backmost each twelvemonth is simply a relentless thrust to beryllium the champion successful the satellite – and being hooked connected competing successful decathlon.

"It's similar trying to bash a really, truly hard puzzle. You benignant of get addicted to that puzzle itself."

The satellite championships are a puzzle Warner would emotion to lick – not lone to prehend the 1 outstanding prize successful a well-decorated career, but due to the fact that it represents a do-over of sorts. Warner is nary longer stewing connected his Olympic disappointment, he's wants to usage it to substance his adjacent success.

"I conscionable anticipation that I tin spell retired this twelvemonth and enactment successful the show that I was hoping to person successful Paris successful Tokyo."