Kevin Mayer (, or , born 10 February 1992) is a French
athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
. He is two-time world champion (
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
,
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
), two-time Olympic silver medalist (
2016 Rio de Janeiro and
2020 Tokyo) and
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
holder in the
decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...
. He is also a world and European champion in indoor
heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...
.
Career
2008–2011: Youth career
In 2009, at the age of 17, Mayer won the
octathlon An octathlon is a combined event competition consisting of eight different sports or contests.
Track and field
An octathlon in athletics is an event which consists of eight track and field events. The word "octathlon" derives from the Greek words o ...
gold medal at the
World Youth Championships. In the following year, he won the
decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...
gold medal at the
2010 World Junior Championships.
![Kévin Mayer Tallinn 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/K%C3%A9vin_Mayer_Tallinn_2011.jpg)
In 2011, at the
European Athletics Junior Championships
The European Athletics U20 Championships (formerly named the European Athletics Junior Championships up to 2015) are the European championships for athletes who are under-20 athletes, which is the age range recognised by World Athletics as jun ...
held in
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
, Mayer won the decathlon gold.
2012: First Olympic Games
Mayer competed at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, finishing 15th.
2013–2015: European Championships medals
He won a silver medal in the
heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...
at the
2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at Scandinavium and Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 1–3 March 2013.
Bidding process
The decision to grant the event for Gothenburg was made by the European Athletics Council a ...
with a new personal best of 6297 points.
At the
2013 European Cup Combined Events he topped the podium and set personal bests in the
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
(11.04 sec),
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
(7.63 m),
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
(14.95 m) and the
discus throw
The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...
(44.89 m).
In 2014, at the
European Athletics Championships
The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe.
Editions
First held, for men ...
held in Zurich, Mayer achieved a personal best of 8521 points in decathlon, winning him the silver medal.
On 12 August 2015, Mayer announced his withdrawal from the
2015 World Championships because of a
hamstring
In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury.
In quadrupeds, ...
injury sustained in the end of July 2015.
2016: Olympic silver medal
On 6 March 2016, Mayer announced his withdrawal from the
2016 World Indoor Championships because of a heel injury sustained during the
hurdles
Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...
race at the French Indoor Athletics Championships held at the end of February in
Aubière
Aubière (; Auvergnat: ''Aubèira'') is a commune located in the department of Puy-de-Dôme in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeast France. As of 2017 its population was 10,061.
The town is home to the Cézeaux campus of the University of ...
.
![Decathlon 1500m Rio 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Decathlon_1500m_Rio_2016.jpg)
At the
2016 Rio Olympics
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
, Mayer earned a silver medal with a new personal best of 8834 points, finishing behind only two-time gold medallist
Ashton Eaton
Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-point ...
, who was the world record holder at the time. Highlights of his campaign include equalling or improving personal outdoor bests in four events (100 m, shot put, 400 m, pole vault)
and performing seasonal bests in three others (long jump, high jump, 1500 m); he was also the best decathlete in two disciplines (the shot put, with 15.76 m and 836 points; and the pole vault, with 5.40 m and 1035 points, sharing first place with
Thomas van der Plaetsen) and lead the standings at the end of the first day of the competition (i.e. after 5 out of 10 events).
Furthermore, this performance ranks as the sixth-best personal best score in the men's decathlon,
and showed a marked improvement in form for Mayer, bettering his former personal best of 8521 points (set during the aforementioned silver medal run at the
2014 European Athletics Championships
The 2014 European Athletics Championships was held in Zürich, Switzerland, between 12 and 17 August 2014. It was the first time that Switzerland had hosted the European Athletics Championships since 1954.
Great Britain headed the medal table, w ...
) by 313 points and the French national record by 260 points.
2017: European Indoor Champion and World Champion
Mayer's first combined events competition of the year was an indoor track and field triathlon (60m hurdles, shot put, long jump) at the National Indoor Meeting of Paris on 8 February.
He finished last (out of three), with 1652 points after failing to receive a score in the 60m hurdles.
At the
2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held between 3 and 5 March 2017 at the Kombank Arena in Belgrade, Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ...
in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
on 4–5 March, Mayer won the gold medal in the men's heptathlon. He set a new European record of 6479 points, beating the record set by
Roman Šebrle
Roman Šebrle (; born 26 November 1974) is a retired decathlete from the Czech Republic. He is considered to be one of the best decathlon athletes of all time. Originally a high jumper, he later switched to the combined events and is a former worl ...
in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
by 41 points.
It was also the second-best score in men's indoor heptathlon, behind
Ashton Eaton
Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-point ...
's world record of 6645 points.
He achieved two new indoor personal bests (in 60m hurdles and pole vault) and established a new European record.
![Kévin_Mayer_London_2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/K%C3%A9vin_Mayer_London_2017.jpg)
On 15 April, he had his first outdoor competition at a triathlon (200m, high jump, discus throw) in
L'Étang-Salé
L'Étang-Salé (; French for ''The Salty Pond'') is a commune in the department and region of Réunion. It is bordered by the communes of Les Avirons and Saint-Louis. Within the commune is the Étang-Salé forest. There is also a beach with blac ...
,
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
. Mayer won all three events, finishing in first place with 2642 points. Mayer then took part in the decathlon in his adopted hometown of
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
on 13–14 May, and achieved a season best mark in discus and shot put. He also took part in the French Elite Outdoor Championships in Marseille on 14–15 July, but struggled in the rainy and windy conditions and finished the competition with a few no marks.
At the
2017 World Championships in Athletics
Seventeen or 17 may refer to:
* 17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18
* one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017
Literature
Magazines
* ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine
* ''Seventeen'' (Japane ...
in London, Mayer completed his first decathlon of the year and won his first World Championships gold medal with a world-leading score of 8768 points, ahead of Germans
Rico Freimuth
Rico Freimuth (born 14 March 1988) is a retired German athlete who specialised in the decathlon. He won two medals at World Championships, bronze in 2015 and silver in 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War A ...
(silver, 8564 points) and
Kai Kazmirek
Kai Kazmirek (born 28 January 1991) is a German track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He holds a personal best of 8580 points for the event achieved in Rio 2016, as well as an indoor heptathlon best of 6173 points. He is a membe ...
(bronze, 8488 points).
This was also France's first international gold medal in the decathlon.
Despite not coming first in any specific discipline, Mayer achieved new personal bests in the 100 metres (10.70s, 929 points), 400 metres (48.28s, 897 points), and the 110 metres hurdles (13.75, 1007 points). A setback in the pole vault – where he cleared his only mark at 5.10m only at the third and last try – 30 cm below his personal record – prevented him from breaking his personal record.
2018: Indoor heptathlon gold and world decathlon record
![WK3B0171 1000m zevenkamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/WK3B0171_1000m_zevenkamp.jpg)
In 2018, at the
World Indoor Championships held in Birmingham, Mayer won gold in the
heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...
with 6348 points. In a closely fought contest, Mayer narrowly beat
Damian Warner
Damian David George Warner (born November 4, 1989) is a Canadian track and field athlete specializing in decathlon. He is the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon, 2020 Olympic champion and a three-time World Athletics Champ ...
of Canada by five points to win his first world indoor title. He achieved his indoor personal best in the 60m and long jump. However, at the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
, he failed in the long jump with three fouls and did not finish the
decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...
.
After the setback at the European Championships, Mayer took part at the
Décastar
Décastar (stylised ''DECASTAR'') is an annual athletics competition that takes place in Talence, in the department of the Gironde in France. Organised by World Athletics, it is one of the athletics meetings that make up the World Athletics Challe ...
held in
Talence
Talence (, ; oc, Talança, ; ca, Talença, ) is a commune in the Gironde department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the south side. It is ...
, France in September 2018. There Mayer broke
Ashton Eaton
Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-point ...
's decathlon
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
, establishing a new mark of 9126 points. Mayer started strongly in the first day, but at 4563 points was still 140 points still behind Eaton's first day total. In the second day, he achieved his best-ever distance of 71.90m in the javelin and the best-ever height of 5.45m in the pole vault in a competition, as well as wins in the 110m hurdles and discus, allowing him to break the world record by 81 points.
2019–2020
Mayer did not defend his European heptathlon title at the
2019 Indoor Championships.
At the
2019 World Championships, Mayer suffered an injury and had to withdraw from the
men's decathlon event. He achieved his personal best in 100m and shot put and was leading the competition after 7 events, but withdrew before the pole vault due to a problem with his Achilles.
2021: Tokyo Olympics silver
At the
2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held from 4 to 7 March 2021 at the Arena Toruń in Toruń, Poland. This was the second time this event was held in Poland after the 1975 edition in Katowice. The four-day competition featured 1 ...
held in
Toruń
)''
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =
, image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg
, image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg
, nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town
, pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
, Poland, Mayer won the
Men's heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...
event with 6392 points.
At the
2020 Tokyo Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
, Mayer started below expectation in the
Men's decathlon, ending in 5th place after the first five events. However, in the final day, he performed well in a few events, such as the hurdle and pole vault as well as a personal best in javelin throw, which allowed him rise in the ranking and win a silver behind
Damian Warner
Damian David George Warner (born November 4, 1989) is a Canadian track and field athlete specializing in decathlon. He is the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon, 2020 Olympic champion and a three-time World Athletics Champ ...
of Canada.
2022: World gold
![Kevin Mayer Oregon 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Kevin_Mayer_Oregon_2022.jpg)
Mayer did not compete in the
2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships
The 18th World Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 18 to 20 March 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Ethiopia headed the medal table, with 4 gold medals, despite winning only nine in total. United States, second on gold medals won with 3, won t ...
due to an issue with his
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...
after catching Covid earlier.
At the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
held in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
in July, Mayer regained his world title in
Men's decathlon, during which Warner withdrew due to a hamstring injury. He again started poorly in 6th place after the first day, but gradually improved his position, and won in the last day with first place finishes in pole vault and javelin.
Personal life
Mayer was born on 10 February 1992 in
Argenteuil
Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...
,
a commune in the northwest suburbs of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, to André and Carole Mayer.
His paternal family and German surname have their origin in the northeastern region of
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
, where his father grew up; some of his relatives still live in the
Moselle department next to the border with Germany.
He has three brothers: Thibault, Thomas and Sébastien; the family was raised in
La Roche-de-Glun
La Roche-de-Glun (; oc, La Ròcha de Glun) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It lies on the left bank of the Rhône, opposite the village Glun (Ardèche department).
Population
See also
*Communes of the Drôme dep ...
, a small town by the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
river in the southeast of the country (
Drôme
Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019. department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
), where his parents still live.
Mayer started practicing athletics at the sports association ''EA Tain-Tournon'' close to his hometown;
after the club's merger with two other Drôme-based athletics associations in 2013, Mayer continued representing it through the new institution, ''EA Rhône Vercors 26-07''. He trains at the CREPS Montpellier, a training center for high-performance athletes, since 2008; ever since moving to
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
, he has been coached by Bertrand Valcin. He studied for a
:fr:Diplôme universitaire de technologie en mesures physiques (a technological degree in physical measurements, including
metrology
Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in Fran ...
and
instrumentation
Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making.
Instrumentation can refer to ...
) at the
University of Montpellier-Sète.
Achievements
Performance in major international events
Best results in combined events
List of senior decathlons with results over 8000 points
List of senior heptathlons with results over 5800 points
Personal bests
Outdoor
Indoor
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
Kevin Mayerat ''Decathlon 2000''
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Kevin
1992 births
Living people
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of France
French decathletes
Sportspeople from Argenteuil
European Athletics Championships medalists
Olympic silver medalists for France
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
World Athletics Championships athletes for France
World Athletics Championships medalists
Olympic decathletes
World Athletics record holders
European Athlete of the Year winners
World Athletics Championships winners
World Athletics Indoor Championships winners
European Athletics Indoor Championships winners
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics