"The challenge of wanting to participate in the World Championships despite months off will unfortunately not be successful. My body does not allow me to jump in Budapest in good conditions with the return of a pain in the hamstring tendon and I therefore make the choice to declare forfeit to my greatest regret, "wrote Lavillenie Monday on his social networks.
The blow is hard for the 2012 Olympic champion, a competitive beast who will have experienced a black year in 2023.
After skipping the indoor season for the first time in his career to treat his hamstring, Lavillenie had a laborious summer with his best jump of 5.61m in seven competitions. He had not managed to clear a single bar on July 30 at the France Championships in Albi, where Thibaut Collet had been crowned.
At 36 years old (37 in September), more or less important injuries have been accumulating for several years for the former world record holder (6.16 m in 2014), who still hopes to shine at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
"Preparing for 2024"
"I will take the time to recharge the physical and mental batteries in order to prepare for 2024 and its deadlines in the best conditions," he promises.
Although far from his past glory, the pole vaulter can rely on his experience of the Worlds in Eugene (Oregon, United States) in July 2022 where, little expected after an average season, he had released his best competition to take the 5th place, and had passed close to the podium. Already in the winter of 2021, he had come back from afar to pass the mythical 6m mark several times.
But Renaud Lavillenie will miss the major international summer athletics competition for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Games.
In the meantime, he has accumulated 18 international medals, including two at the Olympic Games (winner in 2012 in London, silver in 2016 in Rio) and five at the outdoor Worlds (silver in 2013, bronze in 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017), the last in 2018 in bronze at the Euro in Berlin. He has since remained on several failures (8th at the Olympics in 2021, 7th at the Euro in 2022).
"Mentally I am not ready to hang up," warned in June this enthusiast, who must now follow from afar the exploits of the Swede Armand Duplantis, who hovers above the competition.
"I have a longer and harder job than usual, but I still do what I love, so the constraints are less," he added.
The blow is also hard for a team of young France and in need of leaders, which must already leave at home the hurdler Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and his 12 international medals.
In the men's pole vault, the Blues have so far selected Thibaut Collet and Baptiste Thiery.
© 2023 AFP