Renaud Lavillenie – the 2013 pole vault world lead – may have suffered disappointment in Moscow when he had to settle for the silver medal, but he has set an early warning to his rivals for the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championship title with an impressive 5.93m vault to open up his indoor season.
Lavillenie opened at 5.65m and went on to clear 5.75m, 5.83m and 5.93m before attempting 6.04m, which would have been a French national record. The next best athlete was fellow Frenchman Kevin Menaldo, with a personal best of 5.65m.
The Olympic champion’s next competition will take place on the 11th January in Aubiere, France. He has stated that he intends to compete on a weekly basis from then in preparation for the fight to retain his IAAF World Indoor Championship title.
Following Moscow Lavillenie briefly turned his hand to decathlon where he scored 6679 at the DECASTAR competition, although his attempt on the highest pole vault recorded within the multi-discipline event failed when he could only clear 5.47m.
