(Reuters) - France’s Kevin Mayer set a new decathlon world record on Sunday when he finished with 9126 points at the Decastar event in Talence, France.
World champion and Olympic silver medallist Mayer surpassed previous holder American Ashton Eaton’s 9045 points recorded at the 2015 world championships in Beijing.
"That was an incredible display of ability! I'm super happy for @mayer_decathlon & and even more for the future of the decathlon," Eaton said on Twitter.
"Important thing to me has always been to keep pushing the limit and inspiring others to do the same. The more 9K can become commonplace the better."
Mayer made amends for missing out on the European title in Berlin last month, where he failed to register a mark in the long jump, by throwing a personal best of 71.90 metres in the javelin, Sunday’s penultimate event.
He finished the decisive 1500 metres in four minutes 36.11 seconds, having needed to finish in 4:49 to beat the previous record.
(Reporting by Pete Hall; Editing by Toby Davis)