GOTZIS, AUSTRIA -- Canada's Damian Warner set a world best in the long jump Saturday in his first decathlon since the 2019 world championships.
The 31-year-old from London, Ont., jumped 8.28 metres at the Hypo-Meeting to top American Ashton Eaton's mark of 8.23 set in 2012.
The mark was also a Canadian long jump record, topping Edrick Floreal effort of 8.20 metres set in 1991.
Warner was the leader after the first four events - 100 metres, long jump, shot put and high jump - with 3,773 points. Canadian Pierce LePage was second with 3,495.
Saturday's final event was the 400 metres. The schedule Sunday features the 110-metre hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1,500-metre run.
A decathlon world best is the top mark in history that is set within the 10-event decathlon.
Warner, who won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is aiming to be the first person to win six Hypo-Meeting titles.
The Hypo-Meeting is considered an unofficial world championship for multi-event athletes.
Warner's results come after a roller-coaster year that saw him locked out of his training facility at the University of Western Ontario due to COVID-19 safety protocols. Warner couldn't travel to the U.S. to train in the winter so his team, with the help of numerous volunteers, built an indoor training facility in the 66-year-old, unheated Farquharson Arena.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2021.
