Reading the mid-term decathlon ranking, Kevin Mayer adopts an unfavorable position, 6th with 4,372 points, 234 points from the Puerto Rican leader Ayden Owens-Delerme.

But the half-time table is sometimes only a decoy on the combined events: Mayer traditionally manages an excellent second day, where most of his opponents skate with five tricky events.

And, above all, the Canadian Olympic champion Damian Warner had to give up after being injured during the 400m, freeing up a place on the podium.

"My biggest opponent was Damian, a good friend, I didn't like seeing that. It opens up a avenue for me that I didn't have at the base to be world champion, given my second day. J I have some confidence in the title but the youngsters may surprise me," said the 2017 world champion.

Canadian Damian Warner injured in the 400m decathlon at the World Athletics Championships on July 23, 2022 in Eugene, United States ANDREJ ISAKOVIC AFP

Warner, who had beaten the Frenchman at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, indeed seemed to have already flown towards the title, while the Frenchman alternated the good (10 sec 62 in the 100 m, 2.05 m in the height) , the medium (7.54 m at the length, 49 sec 40 over 400 m) and the missed (14.98 m at the weight).

"In the fog"

Without approaching his best performances for the moment, Mayer however has a margin to consider the podium, he who has held the world record since 2018 (9,126 points).

And he's 32 points ahead of his Tokyo roster, which led him to Olympic silver.

"My day has been full of twists and turns. I'm in the fog, like since I arrived in the village here. I'm having less fun than usual, I feel like I'm just + doing the job +. I don't I don't know, I may have indigestion, in the evening I sleep badly, I initially thought it was the pressure", complained the 30-year-old Frenchman, who had given up at the last Worlds in Doha in 2019.

"Physically I feel good, I was afraid of the height, where I had a good competition, without pain. In two months of preparation I cannot have all my usual weapons", he added, after being disabled for several weeks by a tendon injury in the spring.

Kevin Mayer Kevin Mayer during the decathlon high jump event at the World Athletics Championships on July 23, 2022 in Eugene, United States Ben Stansall AFP

After being the only French medalist in athletics at the Japanese Olympics, the Montpellier man with a superhero physique, shaped by his ten events mastered for years, could once again have to put on the costume of the savior of the France team, which lost several chances on Saturday.

"A medal would have been good"

Good second in the series of the 4x100 m relay, the sprinters missed their final from the first handover between Mickael-Meba Zeze and the young Pablo Mateo (21), outside the zone.

Enough to be disqualified when they had finished 8th and last anyway, slowed down by their fault, far from the Canadian winners.

"We expected much better than that, but we have to remobilise, we have a good team and there are many deadlines coming up (especially the Munich Euro in August). A medal would have done good for the team. France team, but that's the way it is," explained the experienced Jimmy Vicaut, present in 2019 when the Blues had already missed their first passage in the final at the Doha Worlds.

Olympic finalist in 2021, half-founder Gabriel Tual failed to weigh in on the great explanation of the 800m, finishing 6th in an open race, while Jean-Marc Pontvianne took 8th place in the triple jump.

Gabriel Tual (in white) finishes 6th in the 800m final of the World Athletics Championships won by Kenyan Kipkurui Korir on July 23, 2022 in Eugene, United States Jim WATSON AFP

Sunday, therefore place in Mayer to raise the balance sheet.

Or to the indestructible Renaud Lavillenie, who still dreams of a podium in the pole vault, where the title seems promised to the Swede Armand Duplantis.

The two blue 4x400 m relays, qualified in the final, will have to surpass themselves to hope to play the leading roles.

© 2022 AFP