World decathlon record holder Kevin Mayer has announced he will miss the entire 2025 season due to a serious hamstring injury that also ruled him out of the Paris Olympics.
Speaking in an online briefing on Wednesday, the 33-year-old Frenchman said the injury had taken both a physical and mental toll, forcing him to abandon hopes of competing at the World Championships in Tokyo this September.
“It’s my first blank season, the first year that I won’t be wearing the French team colours,” Mayer said.
Despite having battled multiple injuries throughout his career, Mayer described this latest setback as the most severe. He said he would stop training for the decathlon and focus solely on strengthening exercises to aid recovery.
The two-time world champion and double Olympic silver medallist suffered the hamstring injury during the 110m hurdles at the Paris Diamond League, just weeks before the 2024 Games. The setback came after an Achilles tendon issue forced him to withdraw from the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
Mayer, who set the decathlon world record of 9,126 points in 2018, remains hopeful of making a comeback for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“We all have our cross to bear. Mine is my physical state. I know very well that if I sort out the problem, I can go on for a very, very long time,” he said.
