Athletics almost resumed on Sunday. Renaud Lavillenie, Mondo Duplantis, and Sam Kendricks, clashed in an original competition, each in their garden. The objective of this "Ultimate Garden Clash" was to pass a maximum of times above 5 meters in 30 minutes. In this "little" game, there is no winner. Or rather two. The French and the Swedish both finished tied, with 36 successful attempts each, against "only" 26 for the American, double world champion in 2017 and 2019.
"I had to put myself in automatic mode to catch Mondo"
The presenter of this competition, organized by World Athletics and broadcast live on Youtube , nevertheless proposed to the first two to decide on a final jump. The last world record holder (6.18 m), only 20 years old, attempted a 37th pass. In vain. The penultimate recordman (6.16 m), 13 years older, preferred to play it safe, after this session at an extraordinary pace: "I'm dead, I don't want to take any risks." The three boom operators, having promised each other that they would start again, will have the opportunity to decide.
"I missed the competition, even in the garden and without any real objective," Lavillenie breathes after the effort. I had the same feelings as on a big competition, the pressure and I was very excited before. I am very happy to have participated, very happy to have done this with Sam and Mondo. Nobody wanted to lose. It took me a long time to get over it physically. The idea was to make one jump per minute, but more had to be done. I had to put myself in automatic mode to catch up with Mondo who was a little ahead. I won't do this every week, but it was fun. A good mix between technique and physique, "he said from his home in Clermont. This duel between great champions of the discipline also delighted many fans, since the live gathered no less than 12,000 spectators.
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