Renaud Lavillenie ( or ; born 18 September 1986) is a French

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

er. Lavillenie won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the 2012 Olympics in London and the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. In addition to his Olympic success, he has won three World Indoor Championships gold medals (record), three

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

gold medals and four

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet court A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The Intern ...

gold medals. He has also won one

and four

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

s at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. As of 25 August 2016, he holds the French national records for the highest pole vault clearance both outdoors (6.05 m) and indoors (6.16 m). The 6.16 was the absolute world record for the pole vault for over six years, 2014–2020. He was the pole vault overall winner of the

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

in seven consecutive years, from 2010 to 2016. Outside pole vaulting, Lavillenie is a keen motorcyclist, and raced in the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours for motorcycles, finishing 25th. Lavillenie subsequently entered the 2014 race, aiming for a top 20 finish. Lavillenie's younger brother Valentin Lavillenie is also a pole vaulter.

Early life

Renaud Lavillenie was born in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire, Charente, France. His father was a pole vaulter. Renaud made his pole vault competition debut in 2003, at the age of 17.

Pole vaulting career

2008

Lavillenie's 2008 outdoor personal best was 5.65 m, achieved on 27 June in

Villeneuve-d'Ascq Villeneuve-d'Ascq (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Métro ...

. His 2008 indoor personal best was 5.81 metres, achieved on 5 December in

Aulnay-sous-Bois Aulnay-sous-Bois () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Île-de-France region in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero of France. The commune has been awarded fo ...

2009: broke Jean Galfione's 10-year-old French national outdoor pole vault record

Lavillenie's 2009 indoor personal best was also 5.80 m – he cleared that height in Moscow and to win the 2009 European Indoor Championships pole vault final in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. Lavillenie improved his outdoor personal best to 5.81 m in May 2009, beating veteran French pole vaulter Romain Mesnil in

Forbach Forbach ( , , ; ) is a commune in the French department of Moselle, northeastern French region of Grand Est. It is located on the German border approximately 15 minutes from the center of Saarbrücken, Germany, with which it constitutes a ...

. Two weeks later, he improved his outdoor personal best to 5.96 m at a meeting in

Aubière Aubière (; Auvergnat dialect, Auvergnat: ''Aubèira'') is a Communes of France, commune located in the department of Puy-de-Dôme in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeast France. As of 2017 its population was 10,061. The town is home to t ...

, setting a world-leading outdoor mark. He achieved another world-leading outdoor mark with a winning jump of 6.01 m on 21 June 2009 at the

2009 European Team Championships The first European Athletics Team Championships took place on 20 and 21 June 2009. The track and field athletics tournament run by European Athletics was the successor of the old European Cup (athletics), European Cup competition which was held a ...

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

, Portugal. That 6.01-metre mark broke Jean Galfione's ten-year-old French national outdoor record of 5.98 m set in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

on 23 July 1999 and would remain as the French national outdoor record until Lavillenie beat it by 1 cm in July 2013. At the 2009 World Championships, Lavillenie vaulted 5.80 m in the pole vault final to win the bronze medal (his first medal in the Olympic Games, World Championships or World Indoor Championships) behind Steven Hooker and Romain Mesnil. He also took part in the

2009 IAAF World Athletics Final The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics m ...

but failed to record a mark and finished last.

2010: first European Championships gold medal

At the 2010 World Indoor Championships, Lavillenie's only cleared 5.45 m in the qualification round and did not qualify for the final. He enjoyed better success at the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League (all events were held outdoors), in which he won four of the seven pole vault events to become its pole vault overall winner. At the

Adidas Grand Prix The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, New York. The event was part of the IAAF Grand Prix from 2007 to 2009. For 2010 it was promoted to the top-level Diamond League through 2015. ...

on 12 June 2010, he won the pole vault event with a jump of 5.85 m (which was a meeting record), beating Steven Hooker into second place. Seven weeks later, he captured his first European Championships pole vault title in Barcelona, with a jump of 5.85 m in the final.

2011: broke Jean Galfione's 12-year-old French national indoor pole vault record

On 5 March 2011, in the 2011 European Indoor Championships pole vault final in Paris, Lavillenie vaulted 6.03 m to win his second consecutive European Indoor Championships gold medal and break the French national indoor pole vault record that had been held by Jean Galfione (6.00 m) since 6 March 1999. That jump of 6.03 m was the third-highest personal best indoor clearance of all time. Only

Sergey Bubka Sergey Nazarovych Bubka (; ''Serhiy Nazarovych Bubka''; born 4 December 1963) is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by '' Track & Field News ...

(6.15 m in 1993) and Steve Hooker (6.06 m in 2009) had registered higher personal best indoor clearances. Lavillenie only managed fifth place (5.50 m) in the pole vault event of the outdoor

2011 European Team Championships The third European Team Championships took place on 18 and 19 June 2011. The Competition was divided between four divisions, with results determining promotion and relegation between them. The Super League event was held in Stockholm, at the Stock ...

. He won four of the seven pole vault events in the

2011 IAAF Diamond League The 2011 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2011 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the second edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 6 May in Doha, Q ...

to become its pole vault overall winner for the second year running. At the 2011 World Championships he cleared 5.85 m to win the World Championships pole vault bronze medal for the second time running. Renaud Lavillenie 2012

Lavillenie underwent surgery on his left hand after he broke it due to a snapped pole accident in December 2011.

2012: won the Olympic Games and World Indoor Championships gold medals for the first time

Lavillenie returned to competition in February 2012 and won the Pole Vault Stars meet with a clearance of 5.82 m. At the 2012 World Indoor Championships, Renaud Lavillenie won his first World Indoor Championships or World Championships gold medal by clearing 5.95 m in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, which was 15 cm better than the

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

medallists. At the 2012 European Championships, Lavillenie cleared 5.97 m in the

to win the European Championships gold medal for the second time in a row. At the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Lavillenie won the gold medal by clearing 5.97 m (a new Olympic record) in the

. He was in the bronze medal position (5.85 m) behind two Germans at 5.91 m – Björn Otto and Raphael Holzdeppe – when he cleared the aforementioned height on his third and final attempt. He had earlier failed to clear 5.91 m on his first attempt and 5.97 m on his second. After securing the gold medal when Otto and Holzdeppe failed later to match or better his 5.97 m, Lavillenie had one failed attempt at 6.02 m and two unsuccessful attempts at 6.07 m. He thus won France its 14th track and field Olympic gold medal in history, became the first French track and field Olympic champion since 1996 and the third French men's Olympic pole vault champion. Lavillenie won five of the seven pole vault events in the

2012 IAAF Diamond League The 2012 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2012 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the third edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 11 May in Doha, Q ...

to become its pole vault overall winner for the third year running.

2013 indoor season: third consecutive European Indoor Championships gold medal

At the 2013 European Indoor Championships, Lavillenie won the pole vault title for the third time in a row after clearing 6.01 m in the

. He did not miss any attempts at 6.01 m and below, with first time clearances at 5.61, 5.76, 5.86, 5.91, 5.96 and 6.01 m. After two unsuccessful attempts at 6.07 m, his third attempt at this height was judged by the competition officials as a foul. Although the bar did not fall during this third attempt, the competition officials later explained that in clearing the bar, Lavillenie had shifted it further than was admissible. The

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

regulation which operated in this case was Rule 182.2.a, which states that a vault shall be declared ineligible if "the bar does not remain on both pegs because of the action of the athlete".

2013 outdoor season: third consecutive World Championships medal

Men pole vault French Athletics Championships 2013 t173743

At 27 July 2013

London Grand Prix The London Athletics Meet, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games and London Diamond League, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix even ...

fixture of the 2013 IAAF Diamond League, Lavillenie cleared 6.02 m to secure victory, setting a meeting record for the pole vault and beating his own French national outdoor pole vault record by 1 cm. He then had the bar raised to a height of 6.16 m, but he failed to clear that height three consecutive times. If he had succeeded, he would have broken

's world outdoor record of 6.14 m set in 1994. Lavillenie went on to become the pole vault overall winner of the 2013 IAAF Diamond League – he won five of its eight pole vault events – for the fourth consecutive year. Lavillenie was the overwhelming favorite to win the 2013 World Championships pole vault title in Moscow. He had dominated the event since the start of 2013. Coming into these world championships, he had achieved the six world-best vaults of the year, was the only man to have gone beyond the 6-metre mark both indoors and outdoors and had cleared the year's highest outdoor height of 6.02 m just two weeks before at the

. In the final of the 2013 World Championships, only Lavillenie and the German pole vaulter Raphael Holzdeppe managed to clear 5.89 m. Both of them failed to clear the next greater height of 5.96 m three consecutive times. Holzdeppe beat Lavillenie to the gold medal by virtue of his clearing the previous height of 5.89 m on his first attempt, whereas Lavillenie needed three attempts to clear 5.89 m. Lavillenie thus won the silver medal with a height of 5.89 m, the same height as Holzdeppe. Lavillenie attempted to break the 14-year-old world decathlon best in the pole vault event (5.76 m, set by Tim Lobinger on 16 September 1999) at the annual

Décastar Décastar (stylised ''DECASTAR'') is an annual Sport of athletics, athletics competition that takes place in Talence, in the Departments of France, department of the Gironde in France. Organised by ADEL'ADEM it is one of the athletics meetings tha ...

meeting in September 2013, but he managed only to clear a height of 5.47 m in his specialist event. Despite not winning the World Championship title, the flying Frenchman lost only one other outdoor competition all season and he won the

race for his event for the fourth consecutive time in 2013.

2014 indoor season: broke absolute world record

Lavillenie was unbeaten in six indoor meetings during the 2014 winter season, and improved his national indoor record three times, including his world record performance in Donetsk, Ukraine on 15 February. On 31 January 2014, Lavillenie cleared 6.08 m with some room to spare on his first attempt, at the Pedro's Cup indoors meeting in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Six days earlier, he had cleared 6.04 m in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

to set a new national indoor record. The 6.08 m clearance in Bydgoszcz was the world's second highest personal best indoor clearance in history, behind

's 6.15 m indoor world record set in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

in 1993. It also enabled Lavillenie to overtake Steve Hooker to become the world's second-best pole vaulter (personal best indoor and outdoor clearances taken into consideration) in history, behind Bubka's personal bests of 6.14 m (outdoor) and 6.15 m (indoor). In both the Bydgoszcz and Rouen meetings, Lavillenie had the bar raised to a height of 6.16 m, but in both meetings he failed in all his three attempts to clear that height. Lavillenie claimed the men's world record with 6.16 m on 15 February 2014. Competing in the annual Pole Vault Stars meeting in

's hometown of Donetsk, Ukraine, Lavillenie entered the competition at 5.76 m and cleared that height as well as 5.91 m on his first attempts before needing all three tries to get over 6.01 m. With the bar set at 6.16 m and Bubka looking on from the stands, Lavillenie flew over the bar on his first try. 6.16 m was the new absolute world record, exceeding both Bubka's 6.14 m outdoors and 6.15 m indoors that some had considered impossible to beat. It was Lavillenie's fourth consecutive win in the Pole Vault Stars meeting, and came one week short of 21 years since Bubka set the record of 6.15 m at that competition in 1993. "It is going to take me some time to come back to earth because it is incredible," Lavillenie said. "This is a world record that is so mythical, and to clear it on the first jump, without touching (the bar) – there is nothing to say. It is just a moment to savor." Holding his head in his hands in disbelief, Lavillenie looked wild-eyed and then pumped his arms in delight, before running with his arms outstretched to soak up the atmosphere. The vault occurred in Ukraine's fifth largest city just three days before the beginning of the

2014 Ukrainian revolution The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

. After a lengthy delay due to the official measurement of the world record 6.16 m, Lavillenie had the bar raised 5 cm to 6.21 m. On his first attempt, he could not control the pole after planting it in the box – the pole pushed him backwards and as he fell off the elevated runway the

spikes The SPIKES protocol is a method used in clinical medicine to break bad news to patients and families. As receiving bad news can cause distress and anxiety, clinicians need to deliver the news carefully. Using the SPIKES method for introducing and ...

of his right shoe lacerated the inside of his left ankle that was on the edge of the runway. Fortunately, Lavillenie did not suffer any damage to his ankle

ligament A ligament is a type of fibrous connective tissue in the body that connects bones to other bones. It also connects flight feathers to bones, in dinosaurs and birds. All 30,000 species of amniotes (land animals with internal bones) have liga ...

or bone. He was given 16 stitches in a Donetsk hospital to close his ankle wound. Although not a serious injury, the nearly 4-inch long gash put an immediate end to Lavillenie's indoor season, forcing him to withdraw from both the Championnats de France d'athlétisme en salle (the French national indoor athletics championships) to be held in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

on 22–23 February and the

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland. Prepar ...

to be held in Sopot, Poland on 7–9 March. Lavillenie was given a hero's welcome when he landed home on 16 February, showing up in the

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport, is the primary international airport serving Paris, the capital city of France. The airport opened in 1974 and is located in Roissy-en-France, northeast of Paris. It is named for ...

terminal building in

crutch A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the human leg, legs to the upper body. It is often used by people who cannot use their legs to support their weight, for reasons ranging from short-term injuries to lifelong disabilities. Hi ...

es before a horde of journalists. The new world record holder arrived home to an outpouring of praise from all quarters in a country where pole-vaulting is held in the highest esteem. "The New Czar," headlined the

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

sports daily, saying that his giant leap in Ukraine had been "a major landmark in the history of sport." Lavillenie's compatriot, Jean Galfione, who won the 1996 Olympic pole vault gold medal, said, "Doing better than Bubka, it is like going faster than

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

, having better statistics than

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

. He has just dethroned a legend." "It was great, a historical moment. It was really an incredible performance. I am very happy that I passed the baton to such a great athlete and such a great personality and role model. I always felt it could happen. I hoped it would be soon," Sergey Bubka, who was the first person to congratulate Lavillenie on his world record-breaking performance, told The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

in a telephone interview shortly after Lavillenie had claimed the world record. On 9 March, the last day of the 2014 World Indoor Championships, the IAAF announced that it had ratified (certified) his world record jump.

2014 outdoor season

Lavillenie returned to competition in the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium (Drake University), Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it is regarded as one ...

track and field meeting held in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

at the end of April, where he won the pole vault event with a jump of 5.70 m. On 18 May, he won the pole vault event at the Shanghai leg of the 2014 Diamond League, clearing 5.92 m on the first attempt. This 5.92 m clearance was a meeting record and the world-leading performance of the year. In that Shanghai meeting, he attempted to break his outdoor personal best of 6.02 m, but he failed to clear 6.03 m in all his three attempts.

2016 Olympics in Rio

Lavillenie was the favorite to win the Olympic gold in pole vaulting, but a strong performance from the host country's Thiago Braz da Silva left him with the silver medal. Lavillenie cleared 5.93 m with his third effort at the finals. This meant that each of the five other competing athletes had to equal or beat their personal best to stay in the competition. Only da Silva managed to do so. Lavillenie managed to clear the next height, 5.98 m, easily with his first attempt, but da Silva decided to skip 5.98 m and went on to 6.03 m. With a successful second attempt at 6.03 m, da Silva set a new Olympic Record. Lavillenie, having failed his first two attempts at 6.03 m, attempted 6.08 with his final jump but failed, knocking the bar off with his knee. Lavillenie was booed by the crowd during the competition and the medal ceremony, causing him to break down in tears as da Silva attempted to calm the crowd and support Lavillenie. Lavillenie compared the incident to Jesse Owens being booed at the Olympics in 1936, although he later apologized for the comment, saying it was made in the heat of the moment and he deeply regretted it.

2020

As the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

shut down most public sports events, Lavillenie conceived an event whereupon athletes could compete against others from their respective backyards: the event, billed "The Ultimate Garden Clash", was picked up by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

, and was streamed live online on 3 May 2020. The event rules were changed so that vaulters had to clear a fixed 5m bar as many times as possible in two 15-minute stretches; in the event, Lavillenie ended up in a tie with Mondo Duplantis, each clearing the bar 36 times, ahead of

Sam Kendricks Samuel Hathorn Kendricks (born September 7, 1992) is an American pole vaulter. He is a three-time indoor and six-time outdoor national champion (2014–2019), the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault, 2016 Olympics bronze a ...

with 26. Two weeks later, the women's event was held, with Katerina Stefanidi,

Katie Nageotte Kathryn Elizabeth Moon ( Nageotte; born June 13, 1991) is an American pole vaulter. She won gold medals at the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Summer Olympics, 2022 World Athletics Championships, 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Champio ...

and Alysha Newman.

Personal life

Lavillenie married Anaïs Poumarat in 2018, following 11 years of dating. Poumarat is also a pole vaulter. They have a daughter, Iris, who was born in July 2017.

Competition record

Awards

* French Legion of Honour (April, 18th 2014) * IAAF Men's World Athlete of the Year: 2014 * Men's ''Track & Field'' Athlete of the Year: 2014 * Men's European Athlete of the Year: 2014 * L'Équipe Champion of Champions (International): 2014 * L'Équipe Champion of Champions (France): 2014

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavillenie, Renaud 1986 births Living people People from Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire Sportspeople from Charente Athletes from Nouvelle-Aquitaine French male pole vaulters Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for France Olympic gold medalists for France World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics French motorcycle racers World Athletics Championships athletes for France European champions for France Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic male pole vaulters European Athlete of the Year winners Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Diamond League winners IAAF Continental Cup winners French Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) 21st-century French sportsmen