New Caledonia’s Geffrouais storms to men’s decathlon gold
Florian Geffrouais of New Caledonia scooped gold in the men’s decathlon at the Samoa 2019 XVI Pacific Games on Tuesday night after an unbeatable performance across both days of events at Apia Park Stadium.
With a total of 7,419 points on the table, 776 points ahead of silver medalist Karo Iga (PNG), no one came close to snatching gold from Geffrouais as he ploughed through one event after another, leaving no room for anyone to challenge him. Tahiti’s Timona Poareu claimed bronze.
However, the decathlon did not feel as easy as Geffrouais made it look. “This decathlon was a hard one with the rain on the first day and after that I think I got a little injury on my biceps doing the pole vault,” revealed Geffrouais.
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Florian Geffrouais of New Caledonia was a standout performer in almost every event of the men's decathlon (Credit: Pacific Games News Service)
Despite the toughness of the event, the New Caledonian dominated at shot put, 110 metre hurdles and discus throw. He finished in close second to maintain his points on the table in the 100m, 400m and pole vault, and ended the decathlon on a high with an almost 200-metre lead in the 1,500m run, ahead of Iga.
“This was a really nice decathlon with good organisation and the public was really nice too, so thank you to everyone involved,” Geffrouais added. “I am really happy this one (decathlon) is over and I won it, so now I can rest and train for the next one.”
Iga, who performed well on day one, struggled to place in the top two of the events on day two, including pole vault where he finished third behind Poareu. Indeed, the Tahitian’s pole vault performance saw him push past Iga to second place in the standings before the Papua New Guinean recovered in the 1,500m run with a second-place finish to reclaim second spot and the silver medal with 6,643 points.
“Tahiti (Poareu) had really good jumps in the pole vault which pushed me back a little, but I was determined to get that silver medal so I bounced back in the 1,500m run,” Iga said.
Iga’s mood could not be dampened however, as he celebrated a silver medal in his first attempt at the gruelling event. “I am really happy because this is my first time participating in the men’s decathlon and I came second, which is really good for me because decathlon is hard,” he revealed.
“This is not an easy event, but I have received wonderful support from my PNG family and I am very happy and want to thank them for supporting me through each stage,” he concluded.
Poareu, who was also making his debut in the decathlon at senior international level, kept his cool throughout to score 6,521 points
“This has been a great experience and it was my first decathlon at this level so I’m really happy,” he told the Pacific Games News Service. “This year I finished third but in four years, at the next Pacific Games, I will be going for gold.”
Athletics continues on Wednesday from 2.30pm with the women’s heptathlon commencing at 3.15pm. Entry is $5 or free for children under 15.
