Clermont-Ferrand (AFP)

"It's been two years since I jumped so high": in the absence of a new world record from the Swedish Armand Duplantis, who failed at 6 m 19 after having largely crossed 6 m 01, the good surprise of the All Star Perche came Renaud Lavillenie, Sunday in Clermont-Ferrand

Certainly, "Monto", the 20-year-old prodigy, who has broken the world record twice in the past 15 days, 6 m 17 on February 8 in Torun (Poland) and at 6 m 18 seven days later in Glasgow (Scotland) ), won the Clermont-Ferrand competition by passing a bar at 6 m 01, with disconcerting ease.

But the Frenchman, his 13-year-old elder, who had on Sunday the double cap of competitor and organizer of the meeting, which he created from scratch on his Auvergne lands in 2016, took second place in "his" competition , crossing 5.94 m the first time, a bar he had not crossed since the European Championships in Berlin in 2018.

"I am very satisfied," said the ex-world record holder at the end of the competition. "I knew that 5 m 94 would be the maximum, it's been two years since I jumped as high, and I know that with such a bar, in August, the Olympic medal will not be far."

Lavillenie then attempted a bar at 6 m 01, failing three times. But the Clermontois, if it lacked freshness, was far from being ridiculous at this height. "I felt that I was started by the previous jumps at 5.80 m and 5.87 m," he said.

--6 pole vaulters at 5.80m--

Duplantis then tried to beat its own brand again, established on February 15 in Glasgow (Scotland), but failed to cross a bar at 6.19 m.

"Make some noise," he asked some 5,000 spectators before setting off. But he failed twice with a harder pole than in his two previous records, before resuming the same as in his last exploits and failing narrowly, despite the advice of Lavillenie, appreciated: "he shed some light on some details ".

"I also gave some advice to + Mondo +, but I was especially afraid of taking 30 cm in the face, there it is only 7 cm and frankly, it feels good," concluded the former holder of the world record (6.16 m in 2014).

With six pole vaulters at 5.80 m, the competition lived up to its promise. The meeting "is only five years old, but currently it's the best in the world for pole vaulting," said Lavillenie.

American Sam Kendricks took 3rd place with a jump to 5.87 m. The world champion in Doha was unable to cross 6.01m, after missing 5.94m.

For the ladies, the American Sandi Morris crossed a bar at 4.80 m before failing at 4.93 m. Frenchwoman Marion Lotout finished in 7th place with 4.46 m.

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