Lavillenie competed in front of a hometown crowd, where he finished in third place. The Frenchman cleared 5.84 meters on his first attempt, but failed all three attempts at 5.90 meters. This gave Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis the edge, since he cleared 5.90 meters on his third and final attempt, which was enough to secure him the second place.
American pole vaulter and reigning outdoor world champion Sam Kendricks won first place in the IAAF Diamond League in Paris after he cleared 5.96 meters on his second attempt, which was a new world leading mark in the men’s pole vault competition. Kendricks surpassed Lavillenie’s previous world leading mark (5.95 meters) this season by one centimeter.
In May of 2018, Lavillenie won first place in the IAAF Diamond League event in Shanghai. This past March, Lavillenie won the gold medal at the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, with a clearance of 5.90 meters.
Lavillenie’s clearance of 6.16 meters, which he set in February of 2014, is the current world record in the men’s pole vault.
