Coronavirus: Pole vault kings Armand Duplantis, Renaud Lavillenie tie in back-garden competition
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Sweden's Armand Duplantis (right) and France's Renaud Lavillenie.
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS (AFP) - Three of the best pole vaulters of all time went head-to-head in a competition on Sunday (May 2) from their back gardens, as sport continued to find new ways of continuing despite the coronavirus pandemic.
World record holder Armand Duplantis and 2012 Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie cleared 5m 36 times in half an hour, while world champion Sam Kendricks managed 26 successful attempts.
The event, livestreamed by World Athletics on social media, saw Lavillenie competing from his home in Clermont-Ferrand, France, with Swedish star Duplantis in Lafayette, Louisiana and Kendricks in Oxford, Mississippi.
The 20-year-old Duplantis wanted an extra three minutes to decide a winner, but Lavillenie, 33, said he was "done".
