2024-01-14 08:00:04
Gold medalist at the London Olympic Games (JO) in 2012, silver medalist at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, eighth in Tokyo in 2021, pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie is aiming for a fourth participation in the high mass of world sport, this been to Paris. Injured hamstrings, forfeited during the last World Championships, in August 2023, in Budapest, and operated on in September, the former world record holder returned to physical preparation at the end of the year. He hopes to qualify by achieving the Olympic minimums in June.
In the meantime, the Frenchman is busy preparing for his event, All Star Perche, on February 22, in Clermont-Ferrand, with the Swede Armand Duplantis, current world record holder (6.22 meters), as a distinguished guest. . Renaud Lavillenie tells Monde his passion for the discipline, which goes well beyond the demand for pure performance.
Does the prospect of competing in the Olympic Games in Paris encourage you to extend your career?
I never asked myself the question in these terms: Paris or not Paris. It might have been 10,000 kilometers from home, it would have been the same. In the summer of 2022, I was still performing very well. In 2023, I was injured, so everything was complicated. The question of ending my career simply did not arise. I continue to practice as long as I can.
When we knew that we were going to have the Games in Paris, the vision was rather to tell ourselves that it was a chance to be able to project ourselves towards an unmissable objective. I didn’t have the feeling of telling myself I’m going to have to push further than expected.
Would not being at the Stade de France this summer be a failure?
If we had had the Olympics in 2012 [Paris avait postulé pour accueillir l’événement cette année-là], yes, it would have been unmissable for me. I was 25 years old, I was in full possession of my means. This time, the Games in Paris may be my fourth; I have already had three, with great success. In 2024, I see them as a bonus: I have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
If I don’t do them, my career won’t be a failure. It’s the icing on the cake, especially in the current context where the expectations surrounding my performances are lower than in previous editions.
In recent years, you have not been spared from injuries. At 37, aren’t we tempted to listen to our body?
There are two things: first, the fear of every athlete is to end up with an injury and to feel that painful feeling of having to give up before having been able to give everything. But, in my case, I passed the six meters once more at the beginning of 2021, before getting injured at the Tokyo Games. In 2022, I finish fifth once more in the Worlds with an interesting level two years before Paris.
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