European Athletics (EAA) – News – Lavillenie leaps to world-leading 5.92m in Rouen

Renaud Lavillenie's record speaks for itself – and in Göteborg in March he will be chasing a hat-trick of pole vault titles at the European Athletics Indoor Championships.

But if any of his rivals thought they might be able to find a chink in his armour in 2013, they would, so far, be disappointed.

Frenchman Lavillenie, 26, chose home ground to increase his unbeaten start to the year when he won the Elite Perche Tour in Rouen.

The Olympic champion produced one of the best performances of the weekend by a European athlete as he strengthened his position at the top of the world rankings with a clearance of 5.92m.

It was five centimetres further than he has vaulted this year and he knows he can go higher.
He went over 5.92m at the third attempt before failing at 6m.

German Raphael Holzdeppe was second with 5.82m while his teammate Kristina Gadschiew triumphed in the women's event with 4.50m.

In Pori, Finland, Eero Haapala leaped to a brilliant personal best as he broke the indoor national record long jump record with 8.11m, 24 centimetres further than he has recorded before.

At the Governor´s Cup indoor meeting in Volgograd, Russian legend Tatyana Lebedeva finished fourth in the triple jump with 13.71m, beaten by teammate Valeriya Zavyalova's 13.86m.

In Sweden, Irene Ekelund, who is only 16, ran an impressive 23.69 in the 200 m in Karlstad while in Stockholm, Moa Hjelmer, who won gold in the 400m at the European Athletics Champiomships in Helsinki last summer, ran an impressive 7.51 over 60m.

European Athletics (EAA) – News