Lavillenie, the defending champion from London 2012, was beaten to gold by home favourite Brazilian Thiago Braz da Silva, who achieved an Olympic record of 6.03 metres.
Advertisement
Lavillenie then attempted to clear 6.08 to retake the lead.
Defending champion Renaud Lavillenie of France looked on course to retain his title after clearing a height of 5.98m.
Da Silva added 11 centimetres to his previous personal best to set a national record and become only the fourth Brazilian to win a track and field gold at a Games.
“Incredible. My first time over six meters”, da Silva said.
The behaviour of the crowds in the venues – when there are crowds in the venues – has been a recurring theme during the Games, with athletes, coaches and officials frequently having to ask for quiet at key times. “My home town wanted me to win”. It really disturbed me, I felt the nastiness of the public and we do a sport where you never see that.
There had already been drama aplenty on a night dogged by heavy rain that caused a brief suspension of action.
Across that first red line, Shaunae Miller’s torso hits the finish just ahead of Allyson Felix.
Kenyan-born Ruth Jebet produced an astonishing piece of front running to win Bahrain’s first Olympic gold when she claimed the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.
His world record of 6.16m was set indoors, and his outdoor best, set a year ago, was a relatively modest 6.05m.
16m meant his final attempt at 6.
After two failures at 5.85m, Kudlicka and Lisek gambled and passed to 5.93m, but both found that beyond them.
“We plan to intensify our dialogue with Brazilian fans through social networks to make sure that we behave as fans in a proper and elegant manner, without losing the passion for sport”. There is no respect, no fair play. “For the Olympics it is not a good image”.
Shown the vault again by a TV interviewer, Da Silva said: “Wow, that was lovely”.
He bided his time on Monday and then took control just as he did when at his peak to come home in 1.
American Sam Hendricks took bronze with 5.85.
Wlodarczyk, competing wearing the glove of her late friend and 2000 Olympics hammer champion Kamila Skolimowska, heaved a monumental 82.29m on her third attempt to crush the competition at Rio’s sweltering Olympic Stadium. “I am just so happy, so grateful”, said the victor who avenged her defeat against Felix at the Moscow worlds past year. He already has the world record, so I am not surprised.
Meanwhile Marie Josee Ta Lou qualified fastest for Tuesday’s women’s 200m semifinals by winning her heat in a personal best 22.31 seconds.
Braz da Silva himself even publicly gave Lavillenie a round of applause.
Advertisement
In the men’s 800m, David Rudisha of Kenya defended his gold with a season best 1 minute 42.15 seconds, becoming the first man since Peter Snell of New Zealand in 1964 to defend the quarter-mile title.
