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Puerto Rican decathlete Aiden Owens Del May finished second on Friday in the first day of the decathlon at the Stade de France. This Saturday, history will be defined in the decathlon, a competition that tests human capabilities under the Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger”.
“I did well. I had good points. I can’t complain. All my focus is on tomorrow (Saturday). I want to focus on the decathlon this time instead of today (Friday),” said Owens Delerme, who was supported by 40 family members in the stands.
It all started at 4:00 am in Puerto Rico / 10:05 am in Paris. In the first event, the 100-meter dash, Owens Delerme was running in lane 1 of Series 3. Lindon Víctor from Granada made a false start, which put all the competitors on edge, as this infraction put everyone in the series at risk. If others had falsely started, they would have been disqualified and would not have received any points. This rule only applies to this event.
Owens Delm took off at full speed. He crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 10.35 seconds and won first place with a score of 1,011 points. The only one who surpassed him was Olympic champion, Canadian runner Warner, with a time of 10.25 seconds and 1,035 points.
“I have family here that I’ve never seen and they’ve never seen me. I’m always traveling to different places. It’s nice to have all my family watching me fulfill my dreams and achieve my goals. I can’t put into words how happy I am here,” the decathlete said of the support he receives from his family and followers.
At 4:55 am in Puerto Rico / 10:55 am in Paris, the Puerto Rican went to the sand pit for the long jump in Group A and achieved a season’s best with 7.37 meters in his first attempt. In the second jump, they raised the red flag, which indicated that the athlete had made some errors in the execution and the distance was not recorded. In the last jump, he surpassed the initial goal with 7.66 meters and won 975 points.
The first part of the day ended with the shot put competition at 6:15 a.m. Puerto Rico/12:15 p.m. Paris. In Group B, he threw 15.17 meters and scored 800 points.
After a break of nearly three and a half hours, the competition resumed at 12:00 noon in Puerto Rico/6:00 pm in Paris, with the decathlete continuing with the high jump. The Puerto Rican jumped 2.02 meters, his best of the season, and received 822 points.
“It was a great day with two of the best results of the season. The jumps were great,” he highlighted of his performance.
At the end of the first day of competition at 2:50 p.m. in Puerto Rico/8:50 p.m. in Paris, the St. Germain transplant ran an impressive 400 meters in 46.17 seconds, his best time of the season. The result vaulted him from fourth place to second place with 4,608 points, 42 points behind his NCAA rival and friend from the University of Texas, German Leo Neugebauer.
“All I need is mental control. That’s the most important thing. All events are important. Event 11 is mental control,” Owens-Delme said of what he has to do this Saturday.
Saturday will be the final day of competition, with admission from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in Puerto Rico and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Paris.
The events are the 110m hurdles, discus and pole vault. After the break, the athletes will return to Puerto Rico at 2:00pm/Paris at 8:00pm to secure their qualification in the javelin and 1,500m events.
Owens Del May successfully completed the decathlon in California and directly qualified for the Olympics with 8,732 points. Mark, a national record for Puerto Rico. In 2022, he finished fourth at the World Championships in Eugene with 8,532 points.
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