Decathlon world champion Pierce LePage won’t compete at Paris Olympics due to injury

A herniated disc suffered in April will prevent Canadian decathlete Pierce LePage from pursuing his first Olympic title next month in Paris.

LePage said he needs back surgery and the next three weeks are crucial to being ready for a return to competition next season.

“The last couple of months have been draining, to say the least,” the Whitby, Ont., native said in an Instagram video post Wednesday. “It’s really tough to see your dream kinda slip away from your hands, even though you’re trying as hard as you can for that not to happen.”

The reigning world champion realized following recent mixed results at training sessions he wouldn’t be in Olympic form.

Earlier this week, the 28-year-old LePage made a final attempt to see where he was at fitness-wise but ended up hurting his hand and shoulders when the pole snapped during pole vault training.

“I think the hardest part about not going [to the Olympics] is I feel like I let a lot of people down who supported me, from fans, sponsors, family,” said LePage, who was fifth in his 2021 Olympic debut in Tokyo.

“[Paris] was the first time my family was going to come [to an Olympics] so that was kind of a bummer, and I’m sorry for that.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this injury,” LePage added, “is I’m pretty resilient and I can really push through when it needs to be done.”

WATCH | LePage wins historic 2023 decathlon world title:

Pierce LePage of Whitby, Ont., becomes the first Canadian to win gold in the decathlon at the World Athletics Championships, while London, Ont., native Damian Warner captures silver.

LePage has overcome a number of injuries throughout his career, including a torn patellar tendon in his left knee while capturing silver at the 2022 world championships.

After winning a gold medal last summer at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, the world’s top-ranked men’s decathlete competed at a pair of Toronto indoor events in February. 

On June 4, LePage ran the outdoor 400 metres at the Royal City Inferno Track and Field Festival in Guelph, Ont., and in the 100 earlier this month in Toronto, but his times in both events were significantly slower than his 2023 performances.

“There was no power [in my stride]. Nothing was going on,” he recalled. “It was either go to the Olympics, score 7,000 points if that (his personal best is 8,909) or hurt myself and risk future long-lasting damage.

Medical exemption from Olympic trials

“I want to defend my world title next [September] in Tokyo.”

Three weeks ago, LePage was granted a medical exemption from participating at the Canadian Olympic trials in Montreal. 

In the spring, LePage noted, he believe he would be ready for the Olympics. On Wednesday, he simply said he’s among the people who don’t naturally heal from a disc herniation.

“I’ve pushed through injuries before and I’ve competed [while injured],” he said, “so until the last week or so I thought I was gonna be able to push through and be able to [go to Paris] but I can’t force my back to suddenly start working no matter how hard I try.”

In May, LePage didn’t defend his Hypo Meeting title in Götzis, Austria, an event many elite decathletes attend annually.

At worlds last Aug. 26, LePage became the first Canadian to win a decathlon world title.

He would leave Budapest a little sore after twisting his right shoulder in long jump and having his knee buckle after clearing 1.99 metres in high jump later in the day. Then, he injured his hamstring before the following event the next day, the 110 hurdles.

All that eludes LePage, who collected 2018 Commonwealth Games silver and 2019 Pan Am bronze, is Olympic gold.

Damian Warner of London, Ont., is the defending Olympic champion in the decathlon and will compete in Paris after capturing an historic eighth Hypo title in May. 

The two-day decathlon at this year’s Summer Games begins Aug. 2.