European Athletics – (EA) – News – Lavillenie and Ohuruogu seek night to remember

Not that French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie or Great Britain's 400m runner Christine Ohuruogu have anything to prove.

Between them they have more medals than some countries win over  countless championships, but they are both chasing gold for Europe on Monday evening for different reasons.

Lavillenie is the finest pole vaulter of his time. He is the Olympic champion and the European champion, indoors and out, but at the World Championship gold has twice eluded him.

In Berlin in 2009 he cleared 5.80m but Australia's Steven Hooker won with 5.90m, and two years later in Daegu it was third again with 5.85m as Poland's Pawel Wojciechowski won on countback with 5.90m.

But this summer Lavillenie has gone over at 6.02m in London and wants this title so much.

Much might depend when he enters the competition. He could play it two ways. One, wait for a long while knowing he can make his mark big, or secondly, enter early, let his rivals know he is there and slowly build towards something special.

While the Russian crowd will have their hopes for the women's final on Tuesday with Yelena Isinbayeva chasing glory, the men's event could have even more resonance if it goes the way of the Frenchman at the top of the pack. Gold for Lavillenie would stretch his legendary status even more.

His event starts at 7pm local time and should be reaching its climax as Ohuruogo enters the arena for the 400m final at 9.15pm.

If she wins, it would arguably be the greatest success of a career where she was the world champion in 2007 and Olympic champion in 2008.

In Daegu she was disqualified from the heats for a false start and then came back to win silver in London but now, in her second year without injury, it would be some achievement if she regained the world crown six years after winning it in Osaka.

She is finding her form at the right time and enters the final after being the second quickest in the semi-finals, winning the second heat in a season's best 49.75 after Botswana's Amantle Montsho, the defending champion, had crossed the line first in the opening semi in 49.56.

But Ohuruogu is renowned for her finishing kick, delivering so well in the home straight and as she said: “I am really happy to be in the final. I wanted to make sure I finished well at the end.”