Pierce LePage withdraws from Paris 2024 due to herniated disc

Canada’s reigning world decathlon champion Pierce LePage has announced his withdrawal from the Paris Olympics due to a herniated disc in his back requiring surgery. The 28-year-old shared the news in a heartfelt video on Instagram, expressing his disappointment and the difficulty of the decision. LePage had hoped to compete for his first Olympic medal but decided against risking further injury ahead of next season.

Reigning World Champion in the men’s Decathlon, Pierce Lepage 🇨🇦 will not compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics due to injury.

He suffered an L5/S1 disc herniation in April and hasn’t been able to fully heal. He’ll undergo surgery and prepare to defend his world title next year. pic.twitter.com/7HYY5EDSoB

— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) July 17, 2024

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“The last couple of months have been draining, to say the least,” LePage said in the video. “It’s really tough to see your dream kind of slip away from your hands, even though you’re trying as hard as you can for that not to happen.”

LePage, who also secured a world silver medal two years ago, attempted to test his back in training earlier this week. Unfortunately, he injured his hand and shoulders when his pole snapped during pole vault training.

“This is just the most cursed season I’ve ever had,” he remarked. “I think the hardest part about not going (to the Olympics) is I feel like I let a lot of people down who supported me. (Paris) was the first time my family was going to come (to an Olympics), so that was kind of a bummer, and I’m sorry for that. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this injury is I’m pretty resilient and I can really push through when it needs to be done.”

LePage placed fifth in his Olympic debut in 2021, where fellow Canadian Damian Warner won gold. Warner is among the favorites to win in Paris.

“Until last week or so, I thought I was going to be able to push through and be able to go to Paris, but I can’t force my back to suddenly start working no matter how hard I try. It was either go to the Olympics, score 7,000 points if that (his personal best is 8,909) or hurt myself and risk future long-lasting damage,” he said. “I want to defend my world title next year in Tokyo.”