Doha (AFP)

World record holder Kevin Mayer, injured, dropped the Doha World Cup decathlon on Thursday.

Mayer, hit in the right knee and left Achilles tendon, was unable to jump on the pole and left the stadium in tears.

Third and still largely in the race for the title win after the first 5 races on Wednesday, Mayer felt Achilles tendon pain in the 110m hurdles, the first round of the second day, which he finished limping in 13 sec 87.

He then managed to throw the disc (48.34m in his 2nd try) before being unable to pass a bar at 4.60m at the pole while he was leading the decathlon. After two tries, Mayer preferred to give up, in tears.

This is a huge blow for the Blues, Mayer, crowned World Cup in 2017 and grandissime favorite to his own succession, being the only chance of gold medal of the French delegation by the end of the competition .

This is Mayer's second consecutive disillusionment in a big league after his nil at Euro-2018, which prevented him from winning the continental title in Berlin.

© 2019 AFP