Have we ever seen the organizer of an athletics meeting fall into the arms of a champion who has just broken a world record? This is what happened on February 25, 2023, at the Maison des sports in Clermont-Ferrand, when pole vaulter Armand Duplantis improved – for the sixth time – his own reference, by clearing 6.22 m. That day, the man who dons the organizer’s costume is more accustomed to the lycra outfit: Renaud Lavillenie, former world record holder in the discipline, who has been directing the All-Star Perch since 2016 at home, in his fief. And he couldn’t contain his joy.
A year later, Armand Duplantis, a Swede born in Lafayette (Louisiana, United States), did not succeed in another Himalayan jump during the 9e edition of the Auvergne meeting. But he still dominated the competition on Thursday February 22, beating the best performance of the year thanks to a bar of 6.02 m. And ignited the 4,800 people in the stands who were entirely committed to his cause, by attacking his own world record. On his second try, he came close to beating him for the second year in a row in Auvergne.
His runner-up, the Frenchman Thibaut Collet, achieved a great performance by improving his previous record by two centimeters, thanks to a bar at 5.92 m, before failing by not much at 6.02 m. Canadian Alysha Newman won the women’s category, jumping 4.83 m on her first attempt, a new national record.
“Mondo” Duplantis, 24, is one of the stars of world athletics and the favorite to succeed him this summer at the Paris Olympic Games. Not very excited about the indoor season, this great friend of Renaud Lavillenie makes a point of placing the All-Star Pole in his sparse winter diary. And he even plays the media game with a little more generosity than usual to please his friend.
The day before this 2024 edition, “Mondo” Duplantis returned to The world on his exploit last year, with his eyes shining. “ It was wonderful. I know it is difficult for Renaud not to participate in his own meeting. Sharing this moment with him is great”, he says. Like this year, the 37-year-old Frenchman was unable to line up due to an injury. “The fact that a world record was broken here, in his city and during his competition will go down in history. It goes beyond me, it’s about Renaud, my youth role model and my greatest inspiration. » On February 8, 2020 in Torun (Poland), the ambitious young man erased his elder from the shelves with a jump of 6.17 m – compared to 6.16 m for the Frenchman, a mark that had stood for six years.
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