Renaud Lavillenie, entered during the first edition of the Perche en Or in Tourcoing this Sunday, January 31, erased the bar of 6.02 m, making him the best world performer of the year. He is ahead of Armand Duplantis, his main rival, who broke the world record last year (6.18 m). Contacted by AFP, he said he was back to his best level.
What emotions does this return to bars over 6 m give you, nearly five years later?
It’s a beautiful day, it gives me more than pleasure. I knew I could do it because of what I was doing in training, that this goal could come true in the short term. But there it happened almost faster than expected. I just didn’t know how I was going to recover from the series of competitions (he jumped in Germany on Friday).
“It’s been six months since I have had any physical problems”
Is this a return to your best?
It’s clearly a return to my best level. People weren’t listening to me, but I explained that since the winter of 2017 I had struggles, small injuries that bothered me during my preparations. Today it’s been six months that I have no physical problems, that I can train every day, so the work pays. At the same time, I had been able to do jumps to 5.90 m with physical difficulties, so I knew that if one day I found the condition it could come back. It’s nice to just be able to express yourself to your full potential.
How do you approach your future confrontations with the new world record holder Armand Duplantis?
I now see things differently. I am realistic about my potential and that of my opponents, but my interest is to prepare for the Euro indoor (in Torun from March 5 to 7), which is what we will remember at the end of the season. I gave myself the opportunity to dream of a 5th European indoor title. + Mondo + has the advantage, he did 6.18m, 6.15m last summer. But in a competition, things can happen … And if you are able to do 6 m that puts the pressure. The goal is the podium in Torun.
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