PARIS — The numbers are not exactly positive, but Damian Warner always is, and maybe the reigning Olympic decathlon champion ought to receive the benefit of the mathematical doubt.

Besides, the 34-year-old from London, Ont., is going to have a large spear in his hand on Saturday evening; do you really want to provoke the man?

Halfway through the torture test that is the two-day, 10-event Olympic decathlon at Stade de France, Warner has scored 4,561 points and sits in fourth place, trailing Leo Neugebauer of Germany by 89, with Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme (4,608) and Norway’s Sander Skotheim (4,588) in between. As deficits go, that is neither insignificant nor insurmountable, given the inevitable jockeying for position that comes on Day Two.