Just the beginning, more later.
RL stands for Renaud Lavillenie, DI for his trainer Damien
In what I do, there is a stage, a moment that all pole vaulters look for, it is this tiny moment of weightlessness.
Weightlessness. Fly to be free.
It is here, in Clermont, that Renaud tries to conquer the world.
Taking off for 2011 planned in Aubière, at home.
RL begins the indoor meetings at home.
RL: "the new poles ?"
DI : "not yet delivered".
RL :" they are late".
RL :"be careful, those are mine".
Delivery of the new poles, each one has its specificity.
RL : "I write the size and the stiffness, in order to be able to find the right one quiclky".
The stiffest poles helps to jump higher, like this one, the 14 4.
RL : " I have not yet used it. If I can handle it, I should be able to jump 6 meters. It is really stiff."
DI :" The goal for this first meeting is to apply all the work done during this winter, try 6 meters if possible, and always jump at least 5,85 in any meeting."
For the first meeting of the year, Renaud clears easily 5,62, 5,72, 5,82. For the first meeting, he is quite easy.
D I : "He already had the legs, he just needed to fine tune."
RL : "I knew that with bigger poles, I would improve".
After clearing 5,92
D I : "keep quiet, just move a little your hand on the pole, and change nothing in your jump, and you will clear 6,02."
Renaud tries to beat the national indoor record, and as usual, goes at full speed.
The pole breaks in 3 parts.
RL: "A pole that breaks, that already happened to me, but it was the first time during a competition. Here is the work of the last 3 months, it is rewarding".
The autumn was spent trying the correct the defects. At Paris, at Insep (french training center for many sportsmen and women, see
http://www.insep.fr) RL trains very hard, with the national boss for jumps.
RL:" I must be able to jump during long periods, to do 40 or 50 jumps in a short time. When you are tired, you clearly see your defects. I have a pleasure and nearly a need to jump, when a training session has only 10 jumps, it is not a training session for me."
Ladji Doucouré (world champion of 110 m hurdles in 2005, and often injured since), former pole vaulter, talks with Renaud. "I had seen a guy in the field doing pole vaulting, I came and I started like this!"
Motorbike...
Live new experience will be the goal of the year.
It is never easy to travel with poles.
Donetk, sad city, industrial city, is the mot important meeting of the winter season for RL, on the home ground of Bubka.
RL:"Donetk is the mythic meeting".
DI:"You must come to Donetsk when you want to do very high level. Bubka is the major guy of the pole vault, we have a very deep respect for him. He has done what nobody else has been able to achieve".
RL:"He has been my idol and still is, he has a palmares long like that...When you go to the meeting of the master, it is not for pole walking "
The day before the meeting, the will to win can be seen on all faces, and too on the frenchman's face. Pole vaulters rarely jump the day before a competition, but RL does.
With few steps, RL clears 5,20, then 5,30, and all the people are surprised.
DI"We realized that the other pole vaulters had sat in order to watch RL jump".
RL clears 5,40.
RL" I was wondering, what stupid thing have I made ?"
RL" Tomorrow I will begin at 5,60, then 5,70, 5,82, 5,93"
RL" All the guys who have cleared 6m have come to Donetsk, so I wanted to come, it is the history of the pole vault here"
RL" Here is the statue of Bubka, we do not even have one of Zidane in France"
RL" Can you translate what is written down here ?"
Bubka, World and Olympic champion
RL meets with Bubka.
RL" I wanted to know more about Bubka, to discover more about him. I have learnt that in his approach of the competition, what he did, it is something that I was doing without knowing it. He does not fix limits. He always trained in order to jump higher.
SB talks about Renaud.
Donetsk is a very atypical pole vault meeting, with all his folklore. The day of the meeting, 4000 spectators are present.
Renaud is the male star of the meeting, while Yelena Isibayeva is the female star, who is back after a one year break.
RL:" the world record for men and women has been set here, it is at Bubka's home, it is really something mythical for our sport."
And a surprise in this meeting, Mazurik is fighting alongside with Renaud at 5,83 and nobody was expecting him at such heights, and Renaud jumps always behind him.
DI "It is not so bad, do the same and prepare your new pole, the 14 4. We try it now, as we do not want to experiment during the European championship".
DI" You must follow him"
RL"No, it is he who is following me".
DI" As you want"
They both fail at 5,93
Lavillenie does not master yet his new stiffer pole.
DI" then there is the tie-break, the fourth try, and Renaud was beginning to master his new pole"
Rule of this tie-break, they now try to clear 5,88, and the ukrainian clears it and improves his personal best of 6 cms.
Renaud has no other option,he must clear 5,88, for the first time this season, he is in danger of losing. He must clear 5,88 to stay in the fight. He clears it.
The pole goes back to 5,93, and now Mazuryk hits his limit, Lavillenie shows he is still here. He does the best performance of the season, in a big fight.
DI" It is good"
RL" I am pleased because I have been able to handle a big pole, I do big jumps at the end, it is a pity that I have not been able to handle this pole correctly earlier in the meeting, and I am pleased because I have held the fight".
Bubka talks
The king is crowned, he just needs a queen.
Ukrainian tradition, as for any king, Lavillenie has his queen, long life to the king.
3 weeks later, european championships in Paris.
A good news comes in qualification, Mazuryk is unable to qualify.
DI" as Renaud last year in Doha, Mazuryk fails in qualification, for us it is good news, because it means a strong performer less, so less energy to fight him."
RL comes full of confidence at Bercy, with his best friend among the french vaulters, Jerome Clavier.
With among the public his family and the french legend Jean Galfione, Renaud is ready to make history.
The final begins, and after having cleared 2 heights, Renaud is becoming cool.
RL"Before I try 5,81, I know I have a medal. Jerome and I both have a medal".
5,81, then 5,91 for a title and a record of the championship.
RL" I was very pleased, because I am european champion, I have been able to keep my title."
DI" hey that was easy, it is all related to the patience. Good, good, but stay in it"
RL" Now that I have won, I can try to make a performance. The judges come to ask for another height, and the first thing that comes to my mind is ... 6,03"
It is the history of the pupil trying to better the master.
RL" I try my new pole", the 14 4 that I had just used a little at Donetsk. I begin to run faster, I hear this noise from the crowd, a big noise".
Always higher.
RL" All my friends and family were here, and those who were not here, they watched it live, it was really big. I had always thought, the next time I clear 6m, I will try 6,16m, I will try the world record".
DI "Opportunities like this one, you do not have them often, the same jump, and the legs straight, right ? Your jump must last for hours".
6,03, mythical bar and 3 cms more than the french record of Jean Galfione, indoor championship in Maebashi in 1999.
RL "When begin my jump, I think "go on, you must clear it"
RL does 3 good jumps, unfortunately not clearing 6,16 m.
RL "In front of Bubka, of Jean (Galfione), my parents, my coach, my family, I showed to all of them that I was not impressed by a bar at 6,16 m".
Jean Galfione "When RL does pole vault, I have the feeling that all the people in Bercy wants to practice pole vault. I like him a lot, he is a nice guy, who does not calculate, who jumps by panache, by pleasure, by enthusiasm."
Bubka talks.
Jean Galfione" he has taken another step today." Those feelings..."
thanks