Why did you decide to end your decathlon? Kevin Mayer: I have my Achilles tendon pain (left) which is big but I haven’t gone into total pain. My left leg was not doing the same job as the right and that was creating an imbalance. It’s hard to give up when you’re so fit. To say I stop at length, I wanted to vomit these words. But I know I couldn’t have finished. I was starting to get tightness in unusual places because my left leg wasn’t doing its job. I’m at peace with myself about my choice, I worked like crazy, the holidays are going to be good.
Do you have the same feeling as in Doha in 2019 (retired during the pole vault on the second day, injured Achilles tendon)? I am less “in debt” (injured, editor’s note) than in Doha. There, I was not in agreement with myself, I had gone through unhuman pain, which should not exist in sport. There I know that in two months my tendon will be fixed and that I will be able to go get a nice little decathlon in a nice place (for the Olympic qualification, editor’s note). I feel like it’s a tradition, I miss Beijing in 2015, Doha in 2019, Budapest, before each Olympic Games. I don’t know, maybe it’s my body or some divine power stopping me, it’s amazing.
Do you see yourself in the Olympics in Paris next year? If all goes well on D-Day I know what I can do, I know what I’m worth right now, it can be magnificent next year. I think I’m on the right track, I can’t wait to be in Paris. In the starting blocks (100m) I imagined myself in Paris with 80,000 people.
France still doesn’t have a medal, you were the best chance…At some point, I can’t assume everyone’s expectations, mine is way too high already. I can’t assume to be the only one to win medals for the France team. And already it’s not over, I’m not saying there won’t be (a medal), even if according to the statistics it’s going to be complicated. I’m very empathetic, I care a lot about other people’s emotions, and it hurts me a lot. But I have to separate things by telling myself that I shouldn’t worry about it. I do this sport for me above all.
What do you need right now? To get back to the stadium and finish the decathlon… I don’t regret anything, I train like crazy and it’s crazy fun, but I still pass a hell of a time in bodybuilding (sessions) and it’s not just crazy fun. To get there and stop after two trials is… (breath) I’m someone who needs one or two hours, now I’m going to go see my relatives, I’m going to cry once more and it’ll be OK.
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