Renaud Lavillenie to compete at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games

Not only did Lavillenie exceed Bubka’s record, he even did it in the hometown of Bubka, Donetsk in the Ukraine, with Bubka watching in the stands.

Both the pole vault title holders will meet at this year’s Bislett Games as the reigning World champion Raphael Holdzeppe of Germany will also participate. This means tough competition for the new world record holder, who also holds the Olympic and European titles, and we are looking forward to an exciting competition and high jumps when the two champions go head to head on June 11.

27-year-old Lavillenie has had the best possible start to his 2014 season. In January he made the two best jumps of his career so far when he cleared 6.04 and 6.08 metres respectively at two separate meetings. His big breakthrough came in 2009 when he won the European Indoor Championships and finished third in the World Championships in Berlin.

Renaud Lavillenie has participated at the Bislett Games twice before – in 2010 and 2012 – wining the event on both occasions. However, the track record at Bislett is held by Tim Lobinger of Germany. It dates back to 1999 and is a strong 6 metres. But in his current great form, Lavillenie is capable of breaking this record as well.

The Frenchman has claimed the victory in the pole vault event in the Diamond League since its launch in 2010 and has collected the most Diamond Race points overall (86 points). He has won his event in 18 Diamond League meetings and is top of this list as well.

Honours
Olympic Games: Gold 2012 (London)
World Championships: Silver 2013 (Moscow), Bronze 2011 (Daegu) and 2009 (Berlin)
World Indoor Championships: Gold 2012 (Istanbul)
European Championships: Gold 2012 (Helsinki) and 2010 (Barcelona)
European Indoor Championships: Gold 2013 (Gothenburg), 2011 (Paris) and 2009 (Turin)
Pearson Best Outdoor: 6.02 (London 2013)