French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie (© Getty Images)
Hi everybody!
I’m breaking off my holiday for a few minutes in order to give you some news. First, thank you to everyone for the support this season. It helped me to surpass myself. I am counting on you next year!
In September I won the Diamond Race for the fourth time. I was a bit under pressure before Brussels, since I had never won this meeting before.
To keep hold of my trophy, the easiest way was to win. And that is exactly what I did. I cleared 5.96m and proved that I was able to be as consistent as usual. It is extraordinary to win the Diamond Race for the fourth time! There is just one other athlete (Milcah Chemos) who has managed to achieve that.
My last competition of the summer was the Decastar in Talence, where I did my first Decathlon. The aim was to discover the atmosphere of combined events, to enjoy myself and to have a change of surroundings.
I had a very good time and some of the best decathletes in the world were there, like Ashton Eaton and Damian Warner.
I am lucky since pole vaulting is similar to the Decathlon in terms of atmosphere. We share the same values by helping each other between attempts.
The most difficult event was the 400m. I suffered in the second half and the last 100m was horrible. At the end of the race, I was glad that it was over.
I failed to jump really high in the Pole Vault, but it whetted my appetite. Now I want to train better next time and return to the Decastar soon.
I am currently enjoying my last week of holiday. I had fun by participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on motorbike, a famous endurance race on circuit.
It went very well, since I participated in the qualifications first and in the race. My team ranked 25th overall and 13th in our category. It was an unbelievable result compared to the initial goal, which was just to finish.
During the holiday I visited my family. I spent a few days at my father’s place in Charente-Maritime, and at my mother’s place in the Landes. Then I went back to Clermont-Ferrand to relax. I also fixed some stuff and I went to a rugby game of the ASM Clermont-Auvergne, the rugby team of the town.
I am already looking forward to training again. I am going to participate in a small competition with my club, the French Cup of Jumps, on 13 October in Saint-Etienne, close to Lyon.
Even though I was on holiday recently, I kept doing sports just for fun. When I visited my parents, there was a surfboard in the boot of the car! So I should be able to get by on this competition.
See you!
Renaud
