Hardwearing.
And back on the front of the stage.
French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie jumped to 6.02 meters late Sunday afternoon at the Tourcoing meeting in northern France, passing the six-meter bar in competition for the first time since March 2016. The 2012 Olympic champion in London and Olympic runner-up in Rio in 2016 erased 6.02 meters on his first attempt at Tourcoing, with a small margin on the bar, before failing three times at 6.20 meters, which would have constituted the world record.
With 6.02 meters, Lavillenie resumed the best world performance of the year from Sweden's Armand Duplantis, world record holder at 6.18 m, and who had passed 6.01 m, a little earlier on Sunday in Düsseldorf ( Germany).
The two pole vaulter, who have traded the best performances in the world in recent days (Lavillenie had spent 5.95m in Karlsruhe on Friday), will meet in Liévin on February 19.
For the French pole vaulter, this is the first time he has crossed the six-meter mark since his indoor world title in Portland on March 17, 2016, with a performance of 6.02 m.
This is the twentieth competition completed by Lavillenie at 6 meters and more.
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Duplantis already more than 6 m away in Düsseldorf