Meeting AREVA : Lavillenie and Lemaitre, ready for the show

With a little less than two months to go until the big day, the line-up for the Meeting AREVA 2010 is beginning to take shape. Furthermore, true to tradition, it will be giving French athletes their dues. Indeed for at least two of them, the evening of 16th July even promises to be a decisive stage in their athletics season.

Renaud Lavillenie, world number one pole vaulter last season, thanks to a jump of 6.01 m, will be in Paris challenging the master of the discipline, reigning Olympic and world champion, Australian Steven Hooker. Christophe Lemaitre, the new pearl of French sprinting, as well as Junior European 100 m champion and record holder with a time of 10’’04, will discover the Stade de France in all its glory: in an encounter on the home straight between Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, who are the current and former world record holders over this distance.

For both parties, the challenge promises to be a sizeable one. However the two young French athletes are making no secret of their ambition. For Renaud Lavillenie it is a chance to benefit from the presence of Steven Hooker to approach, or even go beyond the 6 m barrier.

Who knows, he may even score a prestigious victory over his Australian rival. For Christophe Lemaitre, it will all be part and parcel of preparing in the best way possible for the European Championships, scheduled for 27th July to 1st August in Barcelona, by testing his potential against two of the fastest men on the planet. Renaud Lavillenie and Christophe Lemaître will constitute two of the evening’s French attractions, with national athletics also being represented by Teddy Tamgho, the new world indoor triple jump champion and recordman (17.90 m), Romain Mesnil, double world silver medallist in the pole vault, Ronald Pognon, the French 100 m recordman (9’’99), Ladji Doucouré, world 110 m hurdles champion in 2005, as well as Leslie Djhone, European bronze medallist over 400 m in 2006, to name but a few.

Positioned right at the end of the programme, at 2150 hours, the men’s 100 m promises to be one of the star attractions of the Meeting AREVA. Laurent Boquillet, the Meeting’s director, hasn’t yet completely finalised his line-up, but it has already been established that the race will pit Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Christophe Lemaître against each other. Two other lanes will be reserved for French athletes, which in principle will go to Ronald Pognon and Martial M’Bandjock. The presence of Englishman Dwain Chambers, world indoor champion and favourite for the European title, could pan out favourably over the coming weeks.

Another high point of the evening, the men’s pole vault, will begin at 1930 hours. Furthermore, in addition to Steven Hooker and Renaud Lavillenie, the competition will provide the public at the Stade de France with the opportunity to see at least three other Frenchmen in action in the form of Romain Mesnil, Damiel Dossevi and doubtless Jérôme Clavier. “To give further substance to the remainder of the line-up, invitations will be dished out to the world’s elite, because they all want to come and jump at the Meeting AREVA”, explains Laurent Boquillet. The only exception to the rule will be the German pole vaulters, who will remain on home soil for their national championships.

Three questions for Renaud Lavillenie :

What memories do you have of the most recent Meeting AREVA in the Stade de France last year?

I have a very good memory of the competition because I took victory in a context that was made difficult by the wind, the cold and the rain. I managed a jump of 5.70 m, which was a fairly respectable performance given the conditions. I even surprised myself that I was capable of jumping so high in the cold and rain. I also recall that the evening was coloured by a pretty extraordinary atmosphere. The public were out in force and very much behind me. I really like that and I draw huge motivation from it.

What are you expecting from the Meeting AREVA this season?

The Diamond League isn’t on my list of priorities this year as I’m primarily focusing on winning the European title in Barcelona. However, I want to benefit from every opportunity to vie with Steven Hooker. I want to challenge him and make the task a difficult one for him. I see the Meeting AREVA as a challenge. Each of us need to come together at least four or five times a year, as each of our confrontations is an opportunity to go very high.

At what height do you envisage you’ll be duelling in the Stade de France next Friday 16th July?

The competition could see us going very high. This season Steven Hooker will be gunning for Sergueï Bubka’s world record (6.14 m outdoors, 6.15 m indoors). I don’t know if he’ll be able to beat it, but he’s going to try. As for me, I need to familiarise myself with the sensations of a jump of 6 m or more. I have to get used to such heights so as not to be overwhelmed by them anymore.

 

Three questions for Christophe Lemaitre :

You’re going to be running in the Stade de France for the first time in your career. What does this history laden site represent for you?

It’s a dream come true. I’ve never run here before. And I’ve never come here as a spectator either. When I was younger, I watched the matches played in the Stade de France, dreaming of one day being in the stands. I’m going to be on the track there and I still find it hard to believe.

What aims will you have when you get onto the track to run the 100 m at the Meeting AREVA?

The 100 m will be my last race before the European Championships in Barcelona. As such I’ll be looking to perform well and to prepare myself for the European meeting as best I can, both physically and mentally. I’m going to be able to test myself against incredible competition. Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, along with Tyson Gray, form part of a world I don’t yet belong to. However, I do want to join them, one day, and try my luck at the Games in London.

Could the presence on the track of Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell on Friday 16th July enable you to run the 100 m in under 10 seconds?

Maybe. The conditions and my form at the time will decide that. I’m constantly being asked about this time, but it’s not something I’m obsessed with. Naturally I’d like to become the first white guy to run under 10 seconds, if possible in the Stade de France, but I imagine this performance to be a simple stage before going on to run even faster.
     

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