The end of the tunnel. Kevin Mayer is only a few hours away from officially qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games. The decathlon world record holder, however, gave himself a scare this Tuesday in the pole vault, missing his first two jumps at 5 meters. Failure would have taken him out of the race, but the double Olympic medalist held his nerve to cross the bar and move closer to his dream.
“The competition was very late, we didn’t have much time to warm up. I was only able to do two jumps (…), I changed poles for each jump. I ran well, I jumped high, but the poles were too flexible and it was catastrophic,” he explains on France TV.
“This successful jump ensures me the Games, whereas if I had failed, I would have had to go for another decathlon,” he continues, relieved and moved. It’s been a year since everyone asked me every day if I qualified for the Games. I have three times more pressure to qualify than to medal. Now I know I’m qualified no matter what I do. It is a relief. »
The qualification, and a charm?
“Not being able to leave the house without people shouting at us, ‘so Kevin, when do you qualify?’, it was a pressure that I couldn’t handle at all. Now we’re going to go have fun in Paris! Many people told me that they had taken their place, but I didn’t have my place yet. It’s something really complicated to take on,” confides the native of Argenteuil.
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“There, I’m living a crazy dream. I’m on my knees, I slept really badly, that’s why I stopped at 5.30 m. It’s a more difficult decathlon than when I go for a medal. I pulled my fingers out from behind and now I can relax a little. »And why not finish with a medal. Mayer is in fifth place in this European Championship, 95 points from the podium, before the last two events, the javelin and the 1500 m.
