PARIS PERCHE : A shower of jumps

The French pole-vaulter had never before had the opportunity to perform in such a context. A free exhibition open to all, this was the high point of a day dedicated to the discovery and promotion of pole vaulting. "We got everything we were expecting from this day, except the weather. The public were out in force and everyone really enjoyed it," Renaud Lavilennie confirmed at the end of the exhibition.
Somewhat complicated by the rather unfavourable conditions, the competition didn’t disappoint. True to form, the best pole-vaulter on the planet, Renaud Lavillenie, imposed with skill and authority, even treating the public to a jump of 5.30 metres on his first jump. He continued in this vein, clearing the jumps with ease as far as 5.70m, which he made on his first attempt. After two failures at 5.80m, the French champion opted to call it a day so as not to take any risks in the driving rain.

"I had an absolute ball. For a Frenchman, jumping with the Eiffel Tower in your line of sight is a unique experience. It’s the most beautiful venue that I’ve jumped at in my entire career. The conditions were very difficult, but we all did our best to forget the rain. In fact, I’m obliged to come back and do the same again next year, but in the sunshine!"



An illustrious witness of the day’s proceedings was Ukrainian Sergueï Bubka. Invited by the event’s organisers, the former world record holder didn’t miss a single one of the competition’s jumps. "It’s quite remarkable to see a pole vault competition in such a fabulous historic venue. Coming out of the stadium and heading onto the streets is a very good way of promoting athletics".


Thirty years ago, French pole vaulting regularly took to the streets of Paris and even the provinces. Jean-Claude Perrin and Maurice Houvion, two emblematic coaches of the discipline’s ‘French school’, were a familiar sight, setting up a take-off track and jumping pit at the heart of the various towns and showcasing their best athletes: Thierry Vigneron, Philippe Houvion, Pierre Quinon or Jean-Michel Bellot. However, this ‘street entertainment’ disappeared from the calendar back in 1978, a year which saw the last tournament by the Perrin/Houvion duo.

Benefiting from the proximity of the MEETING AREVA and the growing popularity of Renaud Lavillenie, the FFA had the idea of reinstating this phenomena. “I think that athletics must come out of the stadiums,” explained Bernard Amsalem, President of the French Athletics Federation. "Through this event, we wanted to promote pole vaulting and enhance the prestige of athletics, as well as using it as a communication operation with a week to go until the MEETING AREVA, which boasts a top-class line-up despite Usain Bolt’s withdrawal. With such a magical setting, it’s an exceptional opportunity to convey our message, namely encouraging youngsters to take up athletics and get the general public interested in our sports. We now wish to make this event a long-standing tradition, and even create a European circuit. We’re considering ways to develop the concept in the large European capitals such as Rome, Madrid, Berlin and London.We need to set ourselves up in the streets".


The public flocked to the event from early in the morning, during which time the youngsters from the Parisian clubs and associations were able to benefit from the advice of ‘coach Renaud’.
A different kind of spectacle will be offered to them on Saturday 5 July in the Stade de France, which though featuring a more usual format, is sure to be just as spectacular. The 2014 MEETING AREVA. Renaud Lavillenie will be one of the safe bets once again. However, he’ll be up against some fearsome adversaries, who will be performing in a official context this time: Piotr Lisek (POL), Thiago Braz (BRA), Mark Hollis (USA), Steven Lewis (GBR), Malte Mohr (GER), Jan Kudlicka (CZE), Konstantinos Filippidis (GRE), Seito Yamamoto (JAP), Raphael Holzdeppe (GER) and Brad Walker (USA).


However, this time the pole-vaulters will have to share centre stage with the evening’s other guests, including sprinters Asafa Powell, Christophe Lemaitre, Allyson Felix and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, hurdlers David Oliver, Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, Sally Pearson and Cindy Billaud, decathlete Ashton Eaton (competing in the 400m hurdles), high jumpers Anna Chicherova and Blanka Vlasic, as well as discus thrower Mélina Robert-Michon.