LONDON -- Neither a return to London's Olympic Stadium nor a surprise 800-meter gold from compatriot Pierre Ambroise Bosse eventually helped French pole vault great Renaud Lavellenie get the elusive world title. Lavillenie fouled his first jump over 5.89m just seconds after Bosse had crossed the finish line on Tuesday, and after Poland's Piotr Lisek and American Sam Kendricks had cleared. "I cheered for Bosse, it helped me keep my motivation," said Lavillenie, adding on his own event: "Between the gold and bronze there was only a fraction." Lavillenie won Olympic gold 2012 in the same stadium and two years later sensationally bettered Sergey Bubka's seemingly invincible world record to 6.16m. Lavillenie missed twice over 5.95, then saved the last attempt for 6.01m but missed, giving Kendricks the gold.

Source: The China Post August 09, 2017 08:15 UTC