Another W for Team Canada! Ontario’s very own Damian Warner took the gold medal in the Tokyo Games‘ decathlon on Thursday and his performance was an Olympic first. Warner is officially the first athlete in history to earn more than 9,000 points at this event, and his home city of London is bursting with pride.
“Congratulations to [London, Ontario’s] Damian Warner for winning the first gold medal in the decathlon for Team Canada at [Tokyo 2020],” the City tweeted after his win. “Through the COVID-19 pandemic, the City turned Farquharson arena into an athletes centre for Damian to train at in preparation for the Olympic Games.”
London’s Tourism minister Cheryl Finn said that it was important for Warner to stay in London while training for the games. “The best athlete in the world is from [London, Ontario.] He trained in a decommissioned arena because it was important to be home,” she tweeted. “Damian Warner taught us to dream big, work hard.”
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Damian Warner talks about his incredible performance in Tokyo, the significance of the moment, and feeling the love from back home ?? pic.twitter.com/iztxrv0SPF
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
Canadians everywhere are showing him love, and Warner is sending love right back. After his win, Warner took a moment to thank all of the fans, the people in his home city, his family, and friends for all of their support in an interview with CBC Olympics.
Warner is one of many medalists from Ontario to make headlines during Tokyo 2020. Toronto-born Penny Oleksiak is now the most decorated Team Canada athlete of all time and Markham’s own Andre De Grasse won gold in the 200 m race on Wednesday, the first for Canada in almost 100 years.
Warner, who is also the first Canadian to win gold in the decathlon, celebrated another major milestone in his life just a few months ago. The athlete shared a photo of his newborn son, Theodore David Phillip Warner, who was born on March 11.
