France's Kevin Mayer breaks world decathlon record
Samuel Petrequin | The Associated Press | Posted: September 16, 2018 5:00 PM | Last Updated: September 16, 2018
Former record holder Ashton Eaton congratulates Mayer on Twitter
On a spectacular day for track and field fans, Kevin Mayer of France set a decathlon world record in front of a home crowd, just hours after Eliud Kipchoge smashed the marathon world record in Berlin.
Competing at the Decastar event in southwestern France, world champion Mayer amassed a total of 9,126 points, improving on the previous record of 9,045 set by American athlete Ashton Eaton at the 2015 world championships in Beijing.
Earlier, Kipchoge clocked 2:01:39 at the Berlin Marathon.
In the decathlon, Mayer fell on his back in celebration after he crossed the line of the 1,500 metres — the last of 10 events — in four minutes 36.11 seconds, a time he knew would guarantee him the record.
Mayer came to Talence on the back of a disappointing showing at last month's European Championship, where he was eliminated after three fouls in the long jump.