Warner, LePage compete in discus at Canadian championships as preparation for worlds

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LANGLEY, B.C. — Damian Warner is a fan of blue tracks.

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The color, he mentioned, reminds him of the early levels of his profession.

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“I at all times get pleasure from blue tracks,” he mentioned. “My first-ever huge competitors was at a blue monitor in 2009. It brings again a little bit little bit of nostalgia.”

The blue monitor in query is at McLeod Stadium in Langley, B.C., which is internet hosting the 2023 Canadian Observe and Subject Championship.

Warner and fellow decathlete Pierce LePage took half within the discus competitors on the occasion on Thursday, inserting sixth and third respectively.

Youssef Koudssi, of Montreal, Que., and Jeremiah Nubbe completed with a gold and silver within the competitors.

Warner mentioned he’s utilizing this week as a tune-up to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August.

After lacking 10 months as a result of a hamstring harm suffered on the worlds Eugene, Ore., final summer time, Warner is decided to proceed his return to kind, and there are at present no harm issues.

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“We received again on the horse and again coaching and it’s been actually good since then. No inklings of any sort of issues in my hamstrings since then,” he mentioned.

“So I’m wanting ahead to the world championships proper now and hoping to get some stable marks this weekend, after which get again to coaching in London for 2 weeks after which head off to coaching camp.”

Warner completed with a prime throw of 48.65 metres on Thursday.

“It’s similar to what I threw within the Olympics for discus. I really feel like I’m at a great place the place I can maintain throwing that consistency and I’m very, very near throwing it additional,” he mentioned.

He’s additionally competing within the hurdles and the 400 metres this week.

Decathlon world silver medallist LePage is following an analogous plan and also will compete within the lengthy leap.

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“I selected discus and lengthy leap as a tune-up,” he mentioned. “Discus because the circle right here is fairly quick … lengthy leap, I wish to tune-up my method and alter it a little bit bit this yr.”

He completed third with a throw of 52.31 metres.

The Whitby, Ont., native and world No. 1, opened the outside season with a giant win on the Hypo Assembly in Gotzis, Austria, in Could. Warner was second.

“I believe I’m simply extra pleased with the actual fact I’m wholesome. I’m coaching arduous, all the things’s going nicely,” LePage mentioned. “After Gotzis, I didn’t need to take break day, I used to be proper again in to issues. It’s been a pair years of coping with accidents so I’m feeling fairly good and I’m pleased about it.”

The championships run by Sunday, with Olympians Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Bolade Ajomale and Bimark Boateng scheduled to compete within the males’s 100 metres on Friday.

De Grasse, Brown, Blake and Brendon Rodney will get their upgraded Olympic medals Saturday on the Canadian nationwide trials in a medal reallocation ceremony.

The group had initially earned bronze on the Tokyo Video games two years in the past.

Nevertheless, an official improve got here in Could 2022 following the disqualification of the British staff as a result of a doping violation by staff member CJ Ujah.

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed July 27, 2023.

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