Pierce LePage, the current global decathlon champion, said on Wednesday that he will not be participating in the Olympics in Paris because of an injury. The Canadian athlete has not recovered in time for the forthcoming games after suffering a herniated disc in his back during training in late April.
LePage broke the news on Instagram, where he shared his disappointment: “I thought I was going to be fine. The last few months have been draining—it’s tough to see your dreams slip away from your hands. No matter what I did, it kept getting worse, and it got to a point where, you know, you can’t do it. We hit that point in the last week.”
At 28, the Whitby, Ont. native was considered a strong contender for a medal in the men’s decathlon, along with fellow Canadian Damian Warner. Unfortunately, his injury just weeks before the Götzis Hypo-meeting in Austria forced him to withdraw from that event and ultimately from the Olympics.
“I’ve pushed through injury before, and until the last week or so, I thought I could,” LePage said. “I can’t force my back to start working, no matter how hard I try. There’s no point in going to the Olympics, only scoring 7,000 points and hurting myself.”
LePage also expressed his regret over not being able to compete for his supporters: “The hardest thing about not going is knowing I let people down who have supported me. Paris was the first time my family was going to come see me compete.”
LePage is scheduled to undergo back surgery soon. He emphasized that the next three weeks will be critical for his recovery as he aims to defend his world championship title in Tokyo next year.
