Renaud Lavillenie vaults 5.83m in Lausanne (© Giancarlo Colombo)
2009 World bronze medallist and reigning European champion Renaud Lavillenie, despite a couple of minor hiccups this summer, has steered the right course to become the first ever Frenchman to win the global title.
Although the French nation towards the end of the last century harboured some very good pole vaulters, notably 1996 Olympic champion Jean Galfione ,at his best a 6.01m performer when winning the 1999 World indoors gold medal, they were unfortunate to be competing at the same time as Sergey Bubka.
Bubka, these days the dynamic Senior Vice President of the IAAF Council, apart from failing to defend his 92 Olympic crown when unexplainably unable to make a qualifying height in Barcelona, missed regaining his 1988 crown at the next Games when an Achilles prevented him competing in the final.
But the Ukrainian, apart from those disappointments, always held a steely, unmatchable grip on the Pole Vault where his current marks of 6.14m outdoors in 1994 and 6.15m indoors the previous year, still remain virtual untouchable World records.
These days there is no one of Bubka's dominance around. Indeed the playing fields are fairly level with Lavenillie and his fellow Frenchman Romain Mesnil, Australia's Steve Hooker, Malte Mohr from Germany being the pacesetters.
Former World Junior silver medallist Pawel Wojciechowski also threw his name in the ring as a contender when smashing the 23-year-old Polish record with a vault of 5.91m at a City Square meeting in Szczecin on 16 August.
From that group 24-year-old Lavenillie has been by far the best of the bunch this year, highlighted by setting a then-world leading mark of 5.90m with his fourth Samsung Diamond League victory at the Herculis meeting in Monaco on 22 July.
However last year's overall SDL champion, holder of four of the top five clearances in the world this summer and who cleared a 6.03m career best to win the European Indoor title last March, is not invincible. At the opening SDL meet in Doha he was relegated to fourth by Mohr, Maksym Mazuryk and Cuban Lazaro Borges.
Then when competing against not only an elite field but in very cold, wet and windy conditions he was beaten by Mesnil, American Brad Walker and his fellow countryman Jerome Clavier when failing to make a height on the New York leg of the worldwide track and field tour.
Three successive victories followed until crashing out when again no-heighting at the French Championships in Albi on 30 July. But Lavillenie, whose outdoor best is 6.01m from the 2009 European Team Championships, remained philosophical afterwards about failing to register heights.
Lavillenie, who again encountered a swirling wind and did not enter the competition until the bar was at 5.73m, said: “I wanted to take risks and it didn’t work. High level athletes have to take risks, if not, it’s better to stay at home....I was unlucky with the conditions, but really, I’m not worry at all. There’s one month left before the World Championships and my goal is to get a medal there.”
But with so much at stake, will he prepared to take any risks when the action gets underway in Daegu where the qualifying round is on 27 August and final two days later?
Certainly Hooker, who is defending his title, is a champion who took one of the biggest risks in history to clinch his victory in Berlin two years but which because of circumstances were fully justified.
The big Aussie, suffering with a torn abductor and a neural problem, took the decision not to take any vaults in the final until a height was reached where he would guarantee himself a medal, whatever the colour.
History records the outcome of possibly the bravest feat ever witnessed on a stadium infield when against all odds and risking a more serious injury, he won the competition ahead of Mesnil and Lavillenie.
Hooker, also the Olympic champion, competed for most of last year carrying an patella tendon problem in his left knee but after extensive treatment is now as ready as he can be for the defence of his World crown.
The 28-year-old may have only competed sparingly this season but his opponents will ignore his best of only 5.60m - they all know how big his heart and determination are and will ignore his presence in Dageu at their peril.
Mesnil, 34, after winning the French title will be looking to go a step further and add to the 2007 and 2009 silvers in his possession while Mohr, who has given Lavillenie his biggest tests this season, will be looking for any chinks in the favourite's armour.
David Martin for the IAAF
