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Olympic champion Damian Warner receives Canada Walk of Fame honours

Damian Warner celebrated his Canada Walk of Fame honours in front of a hometown crowd at Western University

Damian Warner Photo by: Kevin Morris

On Monday night, the reigning Olympic decathlon champion, Damian Warner, celebrated his induction into Canada’s Walk of Fame in front of a crowd at Western University’s Thompson Arena in his hometown of London, Ont. 

Warner was given the honour in 2021 but the pandemic prevented the Walk of Fame officials from attending the inductee’s home.

Warner received a commemorative replica plaque Monday that shines a light on extraordinary Canadian achievers and their successes. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Warner became the first Canadian to win gold in the decathlon, setting a new Olympic record of 9,018 points. He also set decathlon bests in the 100m, long jump and 110m hurdles. 

He was selected as Canada’s flag bearer at the closing ceremonies for the 2020 Olympics and received the 2021 Lou Marsh Award, which is given to Canada’s athlete of the year by a panel of journalists. 

Damian Warner Tokyo Olympics
Photo: Instagram/damian.warner

Warner was humbled by the award and thanked everyone who helped him along the way. “I’ve always felt undeserving of what I’ve been able to accomplish in my career, and maybe that’s because it hasn’t been just me,” wrote Warner on Instagram. “Throughout my life, I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by friends, family, coaches, and mentors who’ve supported me and continue to do so, so that I get to live out a dream every single day.”

For being inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame, Warner received $10,000 to donate to a charity of his choice, which he chose to split between Boys & Girls Club (BGC) London and KidSport Canada.

In his speech, he thanked the city of London as a whole for “playing a huge part” in his life. According to local London news, the two-time Olympic medallist Walk of Fame replica plaque will be installed at a to-be-determined location in the city. 

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