Damian Warner strikes decathlon gold at Decastar

Damian Warner held onto his lead to capture gold at the season-ending Decastar in Talence, France, on Sunday, with a total of 8252 points.

This was Warner's second win of the season and enough to claim the runner-up position in the 2017 World Combined Events Challenge for which he takes home a $20,000 US prize.

According to the IAAF, Warner would have needed to score 8692 to overtake the title. 

Kai Kazmirek of Germany climbed one spot to finish second at Decastar with 8020, while Ukraine's Oleksiy Kasyanov slipped to third with 8016.

Warner posted the fastest time in the 110-metre hurdles at 13.81 seconds to extend his lead after six events.

The London, Ont., native then placed seventh in the discus throw with a distance of 42.70m, allowing Kasyanov to briefly gain some ground with the best throw at 46.99.

Warner finished 10th in pole vault, but was able to maintain his spot at the top of the leaderboard.

The 27-year-old rounded out the competition by finishing ninth in both the javelin and 1500m to secure the win.

Stomach troubles a thing of the past

Warner was competing for the first time since a fifth-place finish last month at the world championships where he caught a stomach bug that also impacted other members of the Canadian team, including marathon runner Eric Gillis.

At the time, CBC Sports analyst David Moorcroft said that Warner is a force to be reckoned with when healthy.

"He didn't look himself [at world championships] and he made a valiant attempt to win a medal, but it wasn't meant to be.

"He is a class act and a fully fit Damian will still be hard to beat on the world stage," Moorcroft said.