Monaco press conference highlights – IAAF Diamond League

Renaud Lavillenie arrives at Monaco’s Herculis meeting in unfamiliar circumstances. Never before has the five-time Diamond Race winner been beaten at two IAAF Diamond League meetings in a row.

But speaking at the pre-event press conference on Thursday (16), the Olympic champion didn’t seem affected by his recent losses in Paris and Lausanne.

“I can lose; I’m human,” he said. “We are allowed to lose. That’s sport.

“This year is different to last year because the standard is a lot higher. Last year, I won in Paris with 5.70m. This year, I jumped 5.71m and I only finished fifth.

“I’m not worried about my performances. It’s not like I failed to clear a height. I can jump. Maybe in one month, we’ll forget about what happened because I’ll be jumping well again. And in 2016, who will remember that I lost in Paris and Lausanne?