Renaud Lavillenie's world record has seriously shaken. The Swedish Armand Duplantis, little prince of the pole at 20, almost passed 6.17 m at the meeting in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Tuesday evening.
After crossing the 6m mark for the first time in his indoor career, he directly aimed at the world record of Renaud Lavillenie, set at 6.16m since February 15, 2014. He managed to pass the mark at his second try, but his elbow hit the bar during his descent. He then failed on his third and last attempt.
"You learn not to look so much at the bar, because that's how you make technical mistakes," he said after the competition. I try not to watch it, but it's so difficult because I had never tried the world record. It's almost sentimental, it almost brought tears to my eyes. All my life I told myself that I wanted to hold the world record. I did not succeed, but just trying, it's a really cool moment. I loved this second when I looked at the bar and told myself that I was trying to reach the record. "
Duplantis is cut to beat it since it has the best brands in all categories of young people. Vice-world champion in Doha in September behind the American Sam Kendricks, he will be particularly expected at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, where the pole vault competition promises to be spectacular.
Agonisingly close! @ mondohoss600 misses a world record 6.17m by an absolute whisker in his season opener (!) # WorldIndoorTour pic.twitter.com/bABbxkqdXU
- World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 4, 2020