French decathlete Mayer wins Ultimate Garden Clash combined events

PARIS - Decathlon world record-holder Kevin Mayer claimed a special victory on Sunday, winning the Ultimate Garden Clash - Combined Events edition, a unique triathlon competition that brought together three of the world's best decathletes competing in three countries, on two continents.

Competing in Montpellier, the Frenchman took on world champion Niklas Kaul of Germany and world silver medalist Maicel Uibo of Estonia, who were competing from their training bases in Mainz, Germany, and Clermont, Florida, respectively.

According to World Athletics, the contest began with a pole vault competition where the trio set out to clear 4.00m as many times as possible during a 10-minute period. Action then continued in the shot put ring where the challenge was to produce as many 12m throws as possible, again over a span of 10 minutes. It then concluded with a shuttle run competition in which two cones were placed 20m apart, with the athletes collecting points for each completed back-and-forth lap over the course of five minutes.

After the completion of the three items, Mayer collected 71 points to seal the win. Kaul totaled 63 and Uibo scored 61.

Mayer said that he simply wanted to have a bit of fun and enjoy the feeling of a competitive atmosphere again.

"It was a little stressful since I knew I had great competitors out there," Mayer said, adding that the key to his win came in the shot put.

"In the shot put I think I made the difference because my PB is 17m so it was easy for me to throw 13 every time and I got in a rhythm that felt good. I was really really tired at the end but it was a good effort for me," he added.

Kaul said he woke up feeling a little nervous knowing that he was returning to competition.

"I was really happy that I could compete with the other guys because we haven't been able to do that for the last three or four months.

Uibo, who also faced a 30 degree temperature and high humidity, also enjoyed the competitive spirit, even if it was online and not in person.

"Obviously none of us had done something like this before, but it was a great thing to be able to come out on a Sunday and have a bit of fun," he said.