French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie hardly treated this like a garden-variety competition. It was for backyard bragging rights.
So he raised his intensity. Lavillenie and Mondo Duplantis of Sweden shared the gold medal Sunday during a men’s pole vault competition held in their own yards.
Advertised as the “Ultimate Garden Clash,” it was a rare sporting event contested during the coronavirus pandemic. Duplantis, a world record-holder, and Lavillenie, the 2012 Olympic champion, each cleared a height of 16 feet (4.9 meters) 36 times over a span of 30 minutes that was broadcast by World Athletics on its social media channels.