Damian Warner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Damian Warner

Warner at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics
Personal information
Born	(1989-11-04) November 4, 1989 (age 35) London, Ontario, Canada
Height	184 cm
Weight	83 kg
Sport
Country	Canada
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Decathlon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Decathlon: 9018 NR (Tokyo 2021) Hepthalon: 6489 NR (Belgrade 2022)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Canada Olympic Games Gold 2020 Tokyo Decathlon Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Decathlon World Championships Silver 2015 Beijing Decathlon Silver 2023 Budapest Decathlon Bronze 2013 Moscow Decathlon Bronze 2019 Doha Decathlon World Indoor Championships Gold 2022 Belgrade Heptathlon Silver 2018 Birmingham Heptathlon Commonwealth Games Gold 2014 Glasgow Decathlon Pan American Games Gold 2015 Toronto Decathlon Gold 2019 Lima Decathlon
Updated on August 4, 2024.

Damian David George Warner (born November 4, 1989) is a Canadian track and field athlete. He is famous for competing in the decathlon. This event combines ten different track and field challenges.

Damian won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He has also won four medals at the World Athletics Championships. These include silver medals in 2015 and 2023, and bronze medals in 2013 and 2019.

He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Damian was the champion at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He also won two Pan American Games titles in 2015 and 2019. In 2022, he became the World Indoor champion in the heptathlon. This is a seven-event competition.

Damian holds the Olympic Games and Pan Am Games records for the decathlon. He also holds the Canadian national record. His score of 9018 points is the fourth-highest decathlon score ever. He is known for his fast running. He holds decathlon bests in the 100 m sprint and 110 m hurdles.

Damian Warner's Journey in Athletics

Starting Young: Early Career Highlights

Damian Warner was born on November 4, 1989, in London, Ontario, Canada. His parents are Kevin Warner and Brenda Philpott. He went to Montcalm Secondary School. There, he first showed his amazing athletic skills. He played football and basketball in Grade 10.

Damian's natural talent helped him move easily into track and field. By the time he was 20, he won a silver medal. This was in the decathlon at the 2010 Canadian championships. He scored 7449 points. He kept getting better over the next two years. He won the decathlon at the next two national championships.

In 2012, he scored 8107 points. This was just below the Olympic qualifying score of 8200. But because of his potential, he was chosen to represent Canada. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Damian finished fifth at these Olympics. He scored 8442 points, which was a big improvement for him.

Winning Bronze: World Championships 2013

In 2013, Damian Warner won his first big event of the year. This was at the Hypo Meeting. He scored 8307 points. He also set new personal bests in the high jump and javelin throw.

After this, Damian went to the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. On the first day, he was in fifth place. But on the second day, he did very well. He tied a personal best in the pole vault. He also threw a personal best in the javelin. This helped him earn the bronze medal.

After winning, he said he felt great. He remembered seeing other medalists in 2011. He told his coaches he wanted that feeling. His final score of 8,512 was a new personal best. He was the first Canadian to win a decathlon medal at the World Championships since 1995. He finished 2013 with another win at the Decastar meeting.

Commonwealth Champion: Glasgow 2014

The 2014 Commonwealth Games were held in Glasgow, Scotland. Damian Warner competed in the decathlon there. He won the event with a score of 8,282 points. This was his first decathlon of the year. He had been recovering from an ankle injury.

Even with his injury, he ran the 100 m in 10.29 seconds. This was a new Games record for the decathlon. He also set a personal best in the 400 m. On the second day, he set another Games record. He ran the 110 m hurdles in 13.50 seconds.

Double Medals: Pan Am Gold & World Silver 2015

In 2015, Damian Warner competed at the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis. But he didn't finish the event. His next big competition was the 2015 Pan American Games in his home country, Canada. The games were held in Toronto.

Damian was expected to win. He broke the national and Pan Am Games record. He scored 8,626 points. This beat a record that had stood since 1996.

One month later, he competed at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. Damian set a new national record of 8695 points. He won a silver medal. He finished behind Ashton Eaton, who set a new world record.

Olympic Bronze: Rio 2016

Warner (left) running in the 1,500 m at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

At the 2016 Olympics decathlon in Rio de Janeiro, Damian started in second place. He was behind Ashton Eaton. But after some events, he dropped to third place. This happened after the shot put and high jump.

On the second day, he moved back to second place. He won the 110-metre hurdles. But then he dropped behind Kevin Mayer of France again. He finished in third place, earning the bronze medal. He was the second Canadian man to win an Olympic medal in the decathlon.

Challenges and Comebacks: 2017-2019

Tough Times: World Championships 2017

Damian competed at the 2017 IAAF World Championships. He got sick with a stomach bug that affected many athletes. He struggled on the first day of the competition. He ended up finishing fifth overall.

Setbacks: Commonwealth Games 2018

Damian was expected to win at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He had won in 2014. He started strong on the first day of the decathlon. He was leading after seven events.

But then, he had trouble in the pole vault. He couldn't clear any height. This made him drop from first place to sixth. Since he couldn't win a medal, Damian decided to stop competing. After this disappointment, he won his fourth Hypo-Meeting. He also set a new Canadian record.

Back to Winning: 2019 Successes

In May 2019, Damian won his fifth Hypo-Meeting. He became one of only three athletes to win this event five times. He broke his own record for the fastest 100m sprint in a decathlon. He ran it in 10.12 seconds. He also set a new personal best in the shot put.

Damian then competed at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima. He wanted to win again after his 2015 victory. Even with ankle pain, he won the decathlon. He finished far ahead of the silver medalist. Another Canadian, Pierce LePage, won the bronze medal.

Damian finished the season at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. He was in second place before the last event. He finished third overall. This was his third World Championship medal. The COVID-19 pandemic then stopped competitions for almost two years.

Olympic Gold: Tokyo 2021

The pandemic brought new challenges for Damian. His training facilities were closed. He couldn't travel to train. So, he and his coaches turned an old, unheated arena into a training spot. He later said this break helped his ankle injuries heal.

Damian returned to compete at the 2021 Hypo-Meeting. He became the first man to win this event six times. He set a new decathlon best in the long jump, jumping 8.28m. He also set a new personal and national record in overall points with 8,995 points. He was only five points away from scoring 9000 points.

The decathlon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was a big competition. Many thought it would be a fight for gold between Damian and Kevin Mayer. On the first day, Damian started strong. He ran the 100 m sprint in 10.12 seconds. This was an Olympic record.

In the long jump, he jumped 8.24 metres. This was another Olympic record. It was very close to his world decathlon best. He also set a season-best in the shot put. He cleared 2.02 m in the high jump. He finished the first day in first place.

On the second day, Damian ran the 110 m hurdles in 13.46 seconds. This was his third Olympic record. He then threw the discus 48.67 m. In the pole vault, he matched his personal best of 4.90 m. He kept a good lead over his rivals.

Damian's best javelin throw was 63.44 m. He was still ahead by 214 points before the last event. He finished fifth in the 1500 m race. He won the gold medal! He also became the fourth decathlete to score over 9000 points. His score of 9018 was a new Olympic record.

After his win, Damian was chosen to carry Canada's flag. This was for the Olympics closing ceremonies. He said he hoped to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He wanted to defend his title. At the end of the year, he won two big awards in Canada.

World Indoor Gold: 2022 Season

Damian was set to start his 2022 season at the heptathlon event in Belgrade. But he felt unprepared in February. After working with his team, he felt better. His main rival, Mayer, was not there due to illness.

At the Indoor Championships, Damian set new personal bests. He did this in the 60 m sprint, 60 m hurdles, and long jump. His long jump was also a new national record. He won the gold medal with a national record score.

At the 2022 Hypo-Meeting, Damian was in second place after the first day. On the second day, he took the lead in the hurdles. He kept the lead and won his seventh event title.

Damian decided not to compete in the Canadian championships. He needed to rest a sore knee. This was to prepare for the 2022 World Athletics Championships. He started strong at the World Championships. He finished first in the 100 m and long jump. He also had season's bests in high jump and shot put.

He had a clear lead after the first day. But he got a hamstring injury during the 400 m race. He had to stop competing. He said he would work to get stronger. Doctors later said it was a strain, not a serious tear.

Silver Medal: World Championships 2023

Damian got a hip injury in April 2023. This happened after a fall during a hurdles event. The hip pain bothered him at the 2023 Hypo-Meeting. He finished second behind Pierce LePage. Damian said he would rest to let his hip heal.

At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Damian started well. He finished first in the 100 m. He was third in the long jump. He had season's best results in shot put and high jump. He finished the first day in third place.

On the second day, Damian won the hurdles again. He moved into second place. He ended up winning his fourth World medal, a silver. Pierce LePage won the gold medal. This was Canada's first gold in the decathlon. Damian was proud of himself and happy for Pierce.

Paris Olympics 2024

Before the Olympics, Damian competed at the 2024 Hypo-Meeting. He won his eighth event title there. Many thought Damian and LePage would both win medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. But LePage had to withdraw due to an injury. Kevin Mayer, another rival, also got injured.

Damian was the oldest decathlete in the competition at 34. He did well in the first seven events. He was in second place. But he failed to clear any height in the pole vault. This meant he couldn't win a medal. Damian chose not to compete in the last two events.

Personal Life

Damian Warner and his partner, Jennifer Cotten, have a son named Theo. Theo was born in March 2021. Jennifer used to be a top hurdler.

Personal bests (outdoor)

Decathlon best

Former decathlon best

Championship results

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result
Representing  Canada
2011	NACAC Combined Events Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	2nd	Decathlon	7760 points
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	18th	Decathlon	7832 points
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	5th	Decathlon	8442 points
2013	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	3rd	Decathlon	8512 points
2014	World Indoor Championships	Sopot, Poland	7th	Heptathlon	6129 points
	Pan American Combined Events Cup	Ottawa, Canada	—	Decathlon	DNF
	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st	Decathlon	8282 points
2015	Pan American Games	Toronto, Canada	1st	Decathlon	8659 points
	World Championships	Beijing, China	2nd	Decathlon	8695 points
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	3rd	Decathlon	8666 points
2017	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	5th	Decathlon	8309 points
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	2nd	Heptathlon	6343 pts
	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Australia	—	Decathlon	DNF
2019	Pan American Games	Lima, Peru	1st	Decathlon	8513 points
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	3rd	Decathlon	8529 points
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	1st	Decathlon	9018 points
2022	World Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	1st	Heptathlon	6489 points
	World Championships	Eugene, United States	—	Decathlon	DNF
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd	Decathlon	8804 points
2024	Olympic Games	Paris, France	—	Decathlon	DNF

See also

In Spanish: Damian Warner para niños