LONDON – Canada’s Damian Warner is off to a rough start in his quest for a world decathlon title.
The 27-year-old from London, Ont., sat sixth after three events at the world athletics championships.
The BBC reported in its online broadcast today that Warner is one of the nine members of the Canadian team to contract the norovirus.
Athletics Canada wouldn’t confirm he had the stomach bug, saying it can’t “divulge personal health information about athletes without their permission.”
Warner led after the first event, the 100 metres, but his time of 10.50 was well off his personal best of 10.15.
He dropped to second place after recording 7.44 metres in long jump.
He threw just 13.45 metres in the shot put — just the 24th-best throw on the morning — falling to sixth spot.
Warner won silver behind world record-holder Ashton Eaton of the U.S., two years ago in Beijing, and then won bronze at last summer’s Olympics.
Canadian Eric Gillis dropped out of the marathon around the 30-kilometre mark, three days after being ill. Sprinter Aaron Brown had been quarantined for a stomach bug, while Brittany Crew’s coach missed her sixth-place performance in shot put. He was quarantined in the central London hotel where some 40 people have fallen ill.
Public Health England reported Thursday night that of the 40, “three of these cases have been confirmed as norovirus by laboratory testing.”