LAVILLENIE Renaud

General
ALL STAR MEETING
In 2016 he began organising the All Star Perche meeting in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The event incorporates several competitions including one for athletes that are still at school, another for legends of the sport, and finally a senior international level competition. "We have achieved some fame. Pole vaulters come here to improve their personal bests. They feel like they are at home here. The atmosphere is exceptional, and the track, which many say is magical, makes all the difference. I'm proud of it." (leprogres.fr, 01 Jan 2020; lequipe.fr, 24 Feb 2019)

APOLOGY
He claimed a silver medal in pole vault at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, finishing behind Brazilian athlete Thiago Braz Da Silva. He later had to apologise for comments he made criticising the home crowd, who he felt were regularly booing athletes from other countries. "I made a big mistake with that. It was just my feeling but in my whole life I have never seen a crowd like that in track and field athletics. I am sorry about what I said, it was a big mistake to make that comparison. I was maybe too upset, but what is important about the sport is that when you train hard for one of the biggest competitions of your life and you have a crowd like that, it is hard to say nothing." (ONS, 16 Aug 2016)

JUMPING BROTHERS
His younger brother Valentin is also a pole vaulter, and represented France at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Valentin made his international debut in about 2012, which was around the time Renaud claimed gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. "We found ourselves exposed to the media. There were clashes, it took us a while, but the blood bond is stronger than anything," Renaud said. (leparisien.fr, 01 Oct 2019)

MOTORCYCLE RACING
He has taken part in semi-professional motorcycle racing. "I'm not afraid of getting injured, if I was then I would stay at home in bed all day. I enjoy taking risks. I race on a circuit in a semi-professional context, so it's not just mucking around. Some people like to go fishing in their spare time, I like to race motorcycles. I took part in the 24-hour Le Mans race in 2014 and six months later I set a new pole vault world record, so it's not like it has a negative impact on my athletic career." (leparisien.fr, 20 Aug 2015)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has served as chairman of the athletes' commission for World Athletics. (bbc.com, 16 Jul 2020; worldathletics.org, 2019)