Paris (AFP)

Sunday triathlon winner against German world champion Niklas Kaul and Estonian Maicel Uibo, decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer told AFP that he "put a lot of pressure" on this competition of a new kind, organized by the International Athletics Federation to fill the calendar gap caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

On the menu of this very special triathlon: pole vault (cross a maximum of bars at 4 m in 10 minutes), shot put (throw at more than 12 m as many times as possible for 10 minutes) and race (make the most round trips over a distance of 20 m for 5 minutes).

Q: What are your impressions after having participated in this triathlon?

A: "I had fun, I felt good. I had cash and I could continue as I wanted. There was someone whispering to me to tell me where the other two were. I felt that I had control over the situation and it felt good. Because I didn't want it to be tight at the end so that I could run at my own pace in the last race. "

Q: Are we still able to get caught up in the game?

A: "Completely. I was stressed all day like before a big championship. Especially since we had never done that, it was the total unknown. I am the world record holder, you have to assume your I had everything to lose and nothing to gain so I put a lot of pressure on myself, I didn't know if I would be strong at that. "

Q: Did you hesitate before agreeing to participate in this triathlon?

A: "They had me a little bit of a snoop. At first, I thought it would be a real triathlon, something that I like more. I am not known for my resistance but rather for my explosiveness. I accepted and they told me after what they wanted to do. I found it much less interesting and it even freaked me out a bit, because I thought I was making fun of myself. But I told myself that I was going to get into trouble , it can't hurt. Under the circumstances, it was cool to compete. But I'm a decathlete first, that's not what I'm training for at all. 'a desire is that it comes back to real decathlon. "

Q: What will be your program for the next few months?

A: "As soon as the Olympic qualifications resume, that is to say in December, I will try to find or organize a decathlon to do the minimum as soon as possible and be the best prepared for the Olympics. 'in France in December, it will be cold, it will be necessary to create one either abroad, in the United States, or in the DOM-TOM. "

Interview by Keyvan NARAGHI

© 2020 AFP