Thiago Braz da Silva (born 16 December 1993) is a Brazilian athlete specializing in the pole vault who holds the Olympic record of 6.03 metres. He won the gold medal at the

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and the bronze medal at the

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Career

In 2012, he won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships. In 2013, he became the South American champion with a new outdoor area record of 5.83 metres. On 24 June 2015, he set a new record of 5.92 metres in

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, Azerbaijan. On 13 February 2016, he extended the South American indoor record to 5.93 metres in Berlin, Germany. On 15 August 2016, at the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Braz da Silva won the gold medal in men's pole vault by beating

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pole-vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, the incumbent world record holder and gold medalist in London Olympic Games. In the final, Lavillenie and Braz were the only 2 athletes to achieve the high of 5.93m and consequently they were the only 2 left to dispute the gold medal. Lavillenie managed to clear the next height, 5.98m, easily with his first attempt, but da Silva decided to skip 5.98m (as clearing that height would still have left him in silver-medal position on countback) and went on to 6.03m. With a successful second attempt at 6.03m, da Silva set a new Olympic Record. Lavillenie, having failed his first two attempts at 6.03m, attempted 6.08 with his final jump but failed. Thiago Braz da Silva won the gold medal with an Olympic record and surpassing his personal best performance by 10 cm. He was just 1 cm away from matching Brad Walker's

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record, of 6.04 m. After an Olympic cycle much lower than expected, without medals in World Championships and even in Pan American Games between 2016 and 2020, Braz participated in the

in Tokyo again without being the favorite, but at the same time, with everyone knowing the possibilities for the Brazilian to win a medal again. At heats, he qualified with some ease, missing 2 jumps, but reached the 5.75 mark without needing the third and final attempt at any mark. In the final, he missed an attempt at the 5.70 and 5.80 marks, but managed to pass the second time; when he reached 5.87, a mark not so easy to overtake, he beat it on the first attempt, which becomes crucial to reach the bronze medal. At this point in the race, Renaud Lavillenie, who competed with both feet injured, still had a chance to overtake Braz and gave up from 5.87, passing the bar to 5.92, however, he failed in his attempts and was left without a medal. This ensured Braz on the podium, as only he, the Swede Armand Duplantis, who was the world record holder and favorite for gold, and the American

Chris Nilsen Christopher Nilsen (born January 13, 1998) is an American athlete specialising in pole vault and high jump. He won the silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the Athletics at the 2019 Pan American Games – Men's pole vault, pole vault eve ...

, who surprisingly reached 5.97 getting the silver, remained in the race. Braz missed 3 attempts in the 5.92 and ended up with the bronze. Duplantis easily managed 6.02 and could have tried to break Thiago Braz's Olympic record of 6.03, however he changed the attempt to 6.19, to beat his own world record of 6.18, but failed. Braz finished with his second consecutive Olympic medal, a very rare feat in Brazilian athletics. At the

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in Belgrade, Serbia, Braz got his first medal in World Championships, a silver obtained with a jump of 5.95, a new indoor South American record. The gold went to the Swedish Duplantis, who broke the world record there with 6.20. At the

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, Braz obtained the best position in the history of Brazil in World Championships in the pole vault, finishing in 4th place with a jump of 5.87.Thiago Braz fica em 4º lugar no Mundial de Atletismo
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Personal bests

*Pole vault (outdoor): 6.03 m – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 15 Aug 2016 *Pole vault (indoor): 5.95 m –

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, Serbia, 20 March 2022

Competition record

iAR = indoor Area Record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Braz, Thiago 1993 births Living people Brazilian male pole vaulters Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games athletes for Brazil World Athletics Championships athletes for Brazil Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Brazil Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic gold medalists for Brazil Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic male pole vaulters Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Sportspeople from São Paulo (state) 21st-century Brazilian people