The Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie and the Swedish Armand Duplantis, who stole the pole vault world record (6.18 m) this winter, finished tied on Sunday, in a competition organized each in his garden, containment requires because of the coronavirus epidemic. Double American world champion Sam Kendricks placed third in this "Ultimate Garden Clash" broadcast live on social media by the International Athletics Federation and which attracted a total of some 20,000 spectators.
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Unable to compete in a classic format given very different material conditions, the three athletes had agreed on a new objective: to cross the maximum of bars at 5 meters in height in 30 minutes. Lavillenie and Duplantis both completed 36 jumps - each with a single failure - and Kendricks 26. In a certain confusion, the production proposed a 3-minute tie-break, which Lavillenie, face tired, refused while Duplantis, visibly less tired, left for an additional jump.
Meticulous Renaud Lavillenie
"Succeeding 36 jumps at 5 meters in 30 minutes, I challenge anyone on this planet to do the same, it's huge," said Kendricks, still breathless. Everyone started on a personal long necklace: Lavillenie in his garden in Pérignat-lès-Sarliève (central France) with his daughter Iris on the swing in the background, Kendricks on a modern long necklace on his parents' farm in Louisiana (United States) and Armand Duplantis on the old saltire where he started at the age of three in his parents' garden in Mississippi (United States).
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"I found most of the preparation for competition"
Aged 20, the young prodigy jumped quickly, with no apparent effort. Lavillenie, 33, was meticulous, stopping between each jump to drink, mop his forehead and repoudre hands, while Kendricks, whose runway was much longer, adopted a rhythm more careful, taking the time to sit down to catch his breath. "Paradoxically, I found most of the preparation for competition," testified Lavillenie, who had expressed in recent weeks his difficulty in training now that the Covid-19 epidemic caused the postponement of major meetings you this year, Olympic Games in mind.
Lavillenie and Duplantis must "meet" on June 11 for another original remote competition, organized at the meeting place in Oslo. The Swede will jump into the legendary Bislett stadium, without any audience, against the local Sondre Guttmorsen, while the French must compete once again from his garden.