Brazilian Thiago Braz da Silva, 22, won the gold medal and beat the Olympic record in the men's pole vault.
Brazilian Thiago Braz da Silva, 22, won the gold medal and beat the Olympic record in the men's pole vault in a thrilling duel against Frenchman Renaud Laevilleni. It is the second time Brazil bags a gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Da Silva and Laevilleni competed for the gold after tying at 5.93m. Laevilleni pulled off a 5.98m and whereas the Brazilian vaulter did 6.03m, setting a new Olympic record.
Laevilleni is the owner of the 6.15m world record in the category. He surpassed Serguei Bubka's 6.15m in 1993. The bronze was sealed by US American Sam Kendricks, who leaped 5.85m.
According to the Brazilian Olympic Committee's website, Da Silva attends his practice sessions in Italy, with Ukranian Vitaly Petrov, who was Serguei Bubka and Yelena Isinbayeva's coach.
In the last two seasons, he remained among the world's top ten in the sport, with results showing increasing progress over the years. In 2010, he had leaped 5.10m in São Paulo; 5.55m in Spain, in 2012; and 5.73 in the Czech Republic, in 2014. In 2015, he leaped 5.92m in Azerbaijan.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Brazil takes gold in pole vault
