Meeting organiser Renaud Lavillenie will face formidable opposition when he competes in his home meeting, the All Star Perche by Quartus in Clermont-Ferrand, a European Athletics Indoor Special Premium Permit Meeting, on 23 February.
The world record-holder will face the three medallists from the World Athletics Championships in Doha: Sam Kendricks from the United States, Armand Duplantis from Sweden and Poland’s Piotr Lisek. Lisek won last year’s meeting in Clermont-Ferrand on countback ahead of two-time world champion Kendricks at 5.93m.
The All Star Perche has lived up to its name over the last two seasons in particular, providing the setting for the best quality indoor pole vault competitions in both 2018 and 2019. The competition was unprecedented in terms of depth with seven vaulters clearing 5.88m or higher in 2018 while six vaulters cleared 5.80m or higher in 2019.
2018 results
1. Sam Kendricks (USA) 5.93m
2. Renaud Lavillenie (FRA) 5.93m
3. Pawel Wojciechowski (POL) 5.88m
4. Axel Chapelle (FRA) 5.88m
5. Armand Duplantis (SWE) 5.88m
6. Piotr Lisek (POL) 5.88m
7. Kevin Menaldo (FRA) 5.88m
8. Shawn Barber (CAN) 5.81m
2019 results
1. Piotr Lisek (POL) 5.93m2. Sam Kendricks (USA) 5.93m
3. Kurtis Marschall (AUS) 5.87m
4. Pawel Wojciechowski (POL) 5.80m
5. Thiago Braz (BRA) 5.80m
6. Claudio Michel Stecchi (ITA) 5.80m
7. Melker Svard Jacobsson (SWE) 5.70m
= Axel Chapelle (FRA) 5.70m
In the women’s competition, European outdoor bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw from Great Britain faces world indoor champion Sandi Morris from the United States and Canada’s Alysha Newman. Last year’s competition was won by Angelica Bengtsson who cleared a Swedish record of 4.81m to beat soon-to-be world champion Anzhelika Sidorova on countback.