Damian Warner stands 4th in decathlon, confirms illness

Two days after being quarantined for a stomach bug, Canada's Damian Warner is within striking distance of a decathlon medal at the world track and field championships

Despite feeling fatigued, Warner remains in the medal hunt as he stands in fourth place, 14 points from a podium spot.

• Damian Warner has the chance of a lifetime

Warner fell ill earlier in the week with the viral gastroenteritis that has affected 40 athletes at the meet so far, and spent Tuesday and Wednesday quarantined in his hotel room.

The 27-year-old said Friday's five events — 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 metres — were draining. 

"It took a lot of energy out of me. I felt [it] in the 100 metres," the 27-year-old told CBC Sports. 

Damian Warner: 'I was quarantined for 48 hours, it took a lot of energy out of me'

7 years ago

Duration 1:24

The Canadian decathlete spoke to CBC Sports Perdita Felicien after his first day of competition.

Still, the London, Ont., native is in a good spot to grab a medal for Canada at the world championships.

Kevin Mayer of France leads the way with 4,478 points and is followed by two Germans: Kai Kazmirek (4,421) and Rico Freimuth (4,361). Warner is next at 4,347.

"For him to be in fourth place is actually pretty remarkable," said CBC Sports analyst Anson Henry. "Being quarantined and not being able to eat the way you want, train the way you want can have huge effects on your performance. I could visible see that he had no power or acceleration out of the blocks in his 100 metres. And he could not explode off of the board in the long jump: two of his strong events. The effect of the sickness is very apparent, and he's still in medal contention? That's crazy."

The 27-year-old  took the early lead Friday by running the top time in the opening stage, the 100 (10.50 seconds).

Damian Warner leads after 1st stage of decathlon

7 years ago

Duration 4:39

The Canadian posted the fastest time in the 100m at 10.50 seconds to earn 975 points.

But he fell to second in the standings after tying for the 11th-best leap in the long jump (7.44 metres).

Warner sits in a tie for 2nd after long jump

7 years ago

Duration 1:36

The London native posted a distance of 7.44 metres, dropping him into a tie for second

Warner then sank to sixth after placing 24th in the shot put (13.45m).

Damian Warner slides after disappointing shot put result

7 years ago

Duration 1:10

Warner managed just 13.44 metres with his final throw to fall to 6th in the standings

The London, Ont., native couldn't make up any ground after the high jump event and remained in sixth place. His best jump was a 2.02-metre effort, but well off his personal-best of 2.09. His season best is 2.03.

Damian Warner sits sixth in decathlon after high jump

7 years ago

Duration 0:38

Warner cleared 2.02m in the high jump at the IAAF World Championships.

In the 400, Warner ran a season-best time of 47.47 seconds, moving into fourth place in the final event of the day.

 "I'm hoping that I can put a special day tomorrow," he told CBC Sports.

Warner is chasing his first decathlon world title. He took the silver medal in 2015 and bronze in 2013. He claimed bronze at last year's Olympics. American Ashton Eaton, who is now retired, won gold each time.

Damian Warner moves up to fourth in decathlon after 400m

7 years ago

Duration 2:47

Warner moved from sixth to fourth after posting the second fastest time in the 400m.

The final five events — 110 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, 1,500 — of the decathlon go Saturday (CBCSports.ca, 4:50 a.m. ET).

"He's had some bad luck, so with that, the competitors ahead of him can have some bad luck as well," said Henry. "He's going to have to have some near flawless performances and need a few mistakes from his competitors. Gold is still within reach, but the podium as a whole is still definitely within reach."