Damian Warner


Damian Warner is a Canadian track and field athlete specializing in decathlon. He won the silver medal at the 2015 World Championships and was a bronze medalist at the 2013 and 2019 World Championships and at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Warner also was the Commonwealth champion from the Glasgow games and the two-time and reigning Pan American champion from the 2015 and 2019 Games. Warner also holds the title to the Pan Am Games record and the Canadian record for the decathlon. Notable for his sprinting, Warner holds decathlon bests in the 100 m and 110 m hurdles, running a 10.12 and 13.27 respectively.

Career

Warner was born on November 4, 1989 in London, Ontario to Kevin Warner, a Black Barbadian, and Brenda Philpott, a White Canadian. He came onto the athletics scene in 2010, when he won silver in the decathlon at the 2010 Canadian championships with a final score of 7449. He continued to improve over the next two years, winning the decathlon in the next two national championships. His winning performance of 8107 in the 2012 championships was below the Olympic A qualifying standard of 8200, but in combination with his perceived future potential, he was selected to represent Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Warner placed fifth at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, with a point total of 8442, a jump of 335 points over his previous best score.

2013: World Championship bronze

In his first outing of 2013 Warner won at the high-profile Hypo Meeting with a score of 8307 points, including bests of 2.09 m in the high jump and 62.84 m in the javelin throw. Following this Warner went into the 2013 World Championships in Athletics; after the first day he was in fifth place, but on the second day he tied a personal best in the pole vault and threw a personal best in the javelin to fight his way into the bronze medal position. After achieving his medal he said "This is such a great feeling, all the hard work my coaches and I put into this the last couple of years. In 2011 I finished 18th, saw the three medallists running around the track with their country's flags draped over their shoulders, I told my coaches that I want that to be me, pretty special feeling to achieve that." Warner's final score of 8,512 was a new personal best and was the first time a Canadian reached the podium in the decathlon at the World Championships since Mike Smith in 1995. He ended his 2013 season with a win at the Decastar meeting with a tally of 8161 points.

2014: Commonwealth Games champion

The 2014 Commonwealth Games took place in Glasgow, Scotland. There Warner participated in the decathlon winning the event with a score of 8,282. This was Warner's first decathlon of the year as he was sidelined much of the year with an ankle injury. Despite this he ran to a 10.29 in the 100 m, a games record for the decathlon, while also setting a PB in the 400 at 47.68. He finished the second day with a games record in the 100 m hurdles in a time of 13.50.

2015: Pan Am champion and World Championship silver

Warner followed up the next season competing first the prestigious Hypo-Meeting in Götzis, but there he fouled in all three of his shot put attempts resulting in a first disastrous event. The next major event for him was the 2015 Pan American Games taking place on home soil in Toronto. Warner came into the event as the favourite but defied expectations and hinted at his potential by lower the national record and setting the Pan Am Games record at 8,626. This beat Smith's record which had stood since 1996. Warner and Smith equally provided plaudits for each other, with the new record holder saying of Smith and the fan's that "That guy is amazing. There's a reason that record stood for 19 years, and it took a lot to get that, and I'm so thankful for it. Michael Smith is just an amazing athlete and someone I look up to a lot. I'm glad I could be mentioned in the same name as him. I tried to , because when I came to the track today everybody and myself knew that I had to run a fast time in the 1,500 and the whole time, I didn't know how I was on pace, and I just tried to... feed off the crowd. Whenever I went down the backstretch and the homestretch I could just hear the crowd going crazy, and I wouldn't have been able to run that time without them and I just wanted to show my thanks in any way possible."
Foregoing the standard rest period between decathlons Warner went to the 2015 World Championships in Athletics just one month after winning gold in Toronto. He beat his own national record winning a silver medal, while Ashton Eaton set a new world record in the same event. Despite setting the national record and winning silver Warner was disappointed not to break the 8,700-point barrier saying "I know what shape I'm in and I know I'm capable of running fast times, but I wasn't able to do it yesterday. I didn't quite feel as sharp as I did at the Pan Am Games. I didn't have that little extra boost. But I don't regret anything."
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At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics Warner finished second winning the silver medal setting a new national record in the process with 8,695 points. Despite finishing with a new national record he was disappointed not to break the 8,700-point barrier falling just five points short after finishing 15 seconds slower than his personal best in the 1,500 m. It is rare for decathletes to have two competitions in the duration of one month. Warner said "I didn't quite feel as sharp as I did at the Pan Am Games. I didn't have that little extra boost. But I don't regret anything."

2016: Summer Olympics bronze

At the 2016 Olympics decathlon event in Rio de Janeiro, Warner was initially in second place behind Ashton Eaton, but following a surge by France's Kévin Mayer and mediocre performances in the shot put and high jump he dropped to third place by the end of the first day of the events. On the second day, he initially resumed second place overall following a first-place finish in the 100-metre hurdles, but afterwards dropped behind Mayer again. Following the pole vault, he threatened to fall behind Kai Kazmirek, but ultimately saved his third-place position in the javelin throw. He finished in third place behind Eaton and Mayer, earning the bronze medal and becoming the second Canadian to medal in the decathlon, following Dave Steen at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

2017: World Championships

Warner competed at the 2017 IAAF World Championships hoping to capitalize on Eaton's retirement. Unfortunately he was forced to be quarantined after coming down with the norovirus that affected many athletes in London that year. Warner struggled on the first day of competition and had to settle for fifth overall.

2018: Commonwealth Games

Warner was named to the Canadian team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where he was widely considered the frontrunner to defend his 2014 title. Warner performed strongly on the first day of the decathlon event, and midway through the second day, with seven event completed, was leading. However, disaster struck during the pole vault, when Warner failed to clear any height, immediately dropping from first place to sixth. With no chance of winning a medal, Warner then opted to withdraw from the remainder of the contest. Speaking afterward, Warner remarked "My body was good. There was no excuses. I just didn't execute well. That's the bitter truth. That's why it so hard to deal with."
Following his disappointment in Australia, Warner won his fourth Hypo-Meeting, setting a new Canadian record in the process. Warner commented that the result "means a lot."

2019: Pan Am title defense

In May 2019, Warner won his fifth Hypo-Meeting, becoming one of only three athletes to win the event five times. In the process, he broke his own record for the decathlon best in the 100m sprint with a time of 10.12 seconds, and set a new personal best in the shot put.
Warner was one of the more prominent Canadian athlete who opted to attend the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, aiming to defend his 2015 title. Despite dealing with lingering ankle pain, he successfully repeated as the Pan Am decathlon champion, finishing 273 points ahead of silver medalist Lindon Victor of Grenada. Fellow Canadian decathlete Pierce LePage joined him on the podium as bronze medalist.

Personal bests (outdoor)

EventPerformanceLocationDate
Decathlon8,795GötzisMay 27, 2018
100 metres10.12GötzisMay 25, 2019
400 metres46.54Athens, GeorgiaApril 30, 2016
1500 metres4:24.73TorontoJuly 23, 2015
110 metres hurdles13.27EdmontonJuly 4, 2015
110 metres hurdles13.44TorontoJuly 23, 2015
High jump2.09GötzisMay 25, 2013
Pole vault4.90Bolton, OntarioJuly 16, 2016
Long jump8.04Athens, GeorgiaApril 30, 2016
Shot put15.34GötzisMay 25, 2019
Discus throw50.26Santa BarbaraMarch 19, 2016
Javelin throw64.67MoscowAugust 11, 2013

Achievements