14th March 2013 10:26
At 21, he remains one of the rising stars of world athletics and he confirmed that position by overcoming the adversity of physical and mental setbacks to finish second in the heptathlon in Sweden.
His personal best score of 6297 points came in a superb performance as Eelco Sintnicolaas, of the Netherlands, won gold with 6372, a world-leading mark.
But now the next stop for Mayer is Tampere in July and the European Athletics U23 Championships and after that will be the World Championships in Moscow where he will look to build on his 15th place finish from last summer's Olympic Games in London.
Having won the World Youth crown in Bressanone in 2009 and the World Junior title in Moncton in 2010, Mayer is living up to all his promise.
And his performance in Sweden has shown that he has put behind him any troubles he had in 2012 when he suffered back injury and could not deliver how he wanted to the senior stage.
Speaking with Athle.fr, Mayer said: 'I am pleased to have been able to show that I could do something great in spite of my lack of experience.
'It (2012) was hard - both physically and mentally.
'It was frustrating not being able to show what I could do when I think I have the capacity to achieve great things in major championships.
'It was very hard to get back in, wanting to become a competitor. But it may be what helped me push myself to Gothenburg with only two and a half months of preparation.
'I know I have a lot of potential. I will continue my training to prepare for the summer to get in shape. The goal is to keep the same state of mind and arrive trying to grab everything.'
He ended last year fourth on the European Athletics rankings after scoring 8447(w) in Brussels.
It was only 111 points adrift of German Pascal Behrenbruch, whose score of 8558 was achieved when he won gold at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki.
While he has long way to go to match the world record success of America's Olympic champion Ashton Eaton, who scored 9039 last year, Mayer ended 2012 eighth on the world rankings.
And after the European Athletics Indoor Championships, he is back with fresh drive and new resolve.