News19 May 2016


Lavillenie seeking Stockholm success – IAAF Diamond League

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Renaud Lavillenie in the pole vault at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stockholm (© AFP / Getty Images)

Renaud Lavillenie may be the most prolific Diamond Race winner in history, but the Bauhaus-Galan is one of the few IAAF Diamond League meetings at which the French pole vaulter has never won.

The 29-year-old, who was the IAAF world athlete of the year in 2014, recently won his second world indoor title. He cleared six metres in three of his competitions during the 2016 indoor season, bringing his lifetime tally of six-metre jumps to 19.

But the Olympic champion and world record-holder will head to the Swedish capital on 16 June looking for redemption, following his previous disappointments at the 1912 Olympic Stadium in 2011 and 2014.

Two years ago, in his first competition after winning the European title, Lavillenie’s 22-meeting winning streak came to an end at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stockholm as he failed to register a height in the difficult windy conditions.

His only other appearance in Stockholm was at the 2011 European Team Championships, where he finished fifth.

Stockholm witnessed a pole vault world record as recently as four years ago when Yelena Isinbayeva cleared 5.01m indoors at the Globe Arena. Meanwhile, the men’s stadium record of 5.95m was set by Rodion Gatulin back in 1989.

Organisers for the IAAF

2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar
6 May – Doha, QAT
14 May – Shanghai, CHN
22 May – Rabat, MAR
28 May – Eugene, USA
2 Jun – Rome, ITA
5 Jun – Birmingham, GBR
9 Jun – Oslo, NOR
16 Jun – Stockholm, SWE
15 Jul – Monaco, MON
22-23 Jul – London, GBR
25 Aug – Lausanne, SUI
27 Aug – Paris, FRA
1 Sep – Zurich, SUI
9 Sep – Brussels, BEL