Canadian Damian Warner, the best athlete in the world, recounts his golden journey

The last 12 months have been a nightmare for many athletes. But for Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner, 2021 was a dream year.

With his victory for Canada in Tokyo, not only does the one from London, Ont. native holds an Olympic gold medal, but also the title of greatest athlete in the world.

But do not think that it has gone to his head. He may be Superman to some, but to many others, including those closest to him, he is more like Clark Kent. He would rather wrap himself in a Canadian flag than a Superman cape.

An incredible athlete and now a loving father, from humble beginnings, Canada’s Athlete of the Year is already training for the 2022 season and looking forward to defending his Olympic title in 2024. At his training site at Western University, Warner took time off during the holidays. season to talk about his golden journey and collect his newest trophy.

The call you got to find out you were Canada’s Athlete of the Year and Lou Marsh Trophy winner?

In fact, I was here. I was exercising and running around the track, just warming up for my sprints, and my coach and my agent called me and said, “Oh, you have a phone call.” And it was Damien Cox who shared the news. And yes, I am very encouraged here. I do not know. I’m still speechless at this point, I think, because I’ve gotten so many compliments and I don’t necessarily know what I did to deserve them. But I am very grateful and honored for all this year, all this experience that I have had.

How could you stay so grounded?

For me, when I was younger, my mom told me that there was always someone bigger than you, smarter than you, faster than you and stronger than you. And I think she was telling me that so I could be humble, you know. For example, never let your head get too big. My mom has been the main person for me, so every time I do something, I always ask myself, “Would my mom be proud of this?” Because she has been through a lot in her life. She sacrificed so much for me, my brother, and my sister to see us chase things like this. So it would be nice if I made her proud too throughout the whole experience. I try to do that every day and hope I am doing a good job.

What’s the coolest thing that has happened to you since you came back (from the Olympics)?

The best thing for me was seeing my family, obviously. I have been to three Olympic Games and in the first two I was able to have my family there. So there’s nothing like crossing the line and just walking up and hugging the people who helped you get there. I had that experience (in Tokyo), but could only hug (head coach Gar Leyshon). And that was a really cool experience, but being able to come home and hug (my partner Jennifer Cotten) and hug (son) Theo and hug my mom, yeah, I think that was the coolest thing that ever happened to me. But it’s a tough list because there have been so many wonderful things that I have been able to do this past summer and so many opportunities that I have been given. It has been very special.

Canadian sportscaster Rod Black is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @RodBlackTV