Renaud Lavillenie clears 5.96m at the 2013 Monaco Diamond League (© Philippe Fitte)
Pole vault world record-holder and Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie will head to Monaco for the Herculis meeting on 17 July in the hope of winning for a fourth time at the IAAF Diamond League competition.
His past three performances at the Louis II Stadium, each one separated by two years, speak for themselves. In 2009 he won with 5.88m and then improved to 5.90m in 2011. Two years ago he triumphed again, this time with 5.96m, which was an IAAF Diamond League record until he bettered it himself with 6.02m in London one week later.
There are several potential targets for Lavillenie to aim for in Monaco. The meeting record is 6.00m, set by Maksim Tarasov in 1999. The stadium record belongs to Tim Mack with his 6.01m clearance from 2004. Lavillenie owns the IAAF Diamond League record with his 6.02m. And, of course, there’s Lavillenie’s world record of 6.16m.
The 2014 edition of Herculis was one to remember. Two IAAF Diamond League records, four meeting records and seven world-leading marks were set. Organisers once again are hopeful for another set of memorable performances and Lavillenie, the world athlete of the year, will head to Monaco not wanting to disappoint.
Organisers for the IAAF
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2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar
Doha, QAT – 15 May
Shanghai, CHN – 17 May
Eugene, USA – 30 May
Rome, ITA – 4 June
Birmingham, GBR – 7 June
Oslo, NOR – 11 June
New York, USA – 13 June
Paris, FRA – 4 July
Lausanne, SUI – 9 July
Monaco, MON – 17 July
London, GBR – 24-25 July
Stockholm, SWE – 30 July
Zurich, SUI – 3 September
Brussels, BEL – 11 September
